SOWK 101: Homeless to Harvard - Liz's Strengths, Needs, Obstacles

This discussion board post analyzes the movie 'Homeless to Harvard,' focusing on the life of Liz Murray and her experiences with poverty, homelessness, and adversity. The post examines Liz's strengths, such as determination and compassion, and the obstacles she faced, including parental drug addiction and lack of resources. It also considers her needs, which include education, stability, and emotional support. The assignment requires an exploration of the actions of social workers in the context of social work values and biblical principles, with specific references to course materials on the mission of social work and relevant biblical verses. The analysis utilizes scholarly sources and the Bible, adhering to APA format, to provide a comprehensive understanding of Liz Murray's journey and the role of social work in addressing poverty and related challenges. The post aims to demonstrate course-related knowledge and critical thinking about the intersection of personal resilience, social support, and ethical practice within the field of social work.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK
Introduction to social work
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK
Homeless to Harvard is a very inspiring movie and it shows the journey of a young girl named
Liz Murray who never gave up in her life. This is evident from the fact that she has always been
able to take face all the challenges that life brought in front of her and fearlessly dealt with them.
One of her strengths is determination. Right from her childhood, she has been suffering through
many hardships. Her father and mother both were drug addicts. Childhood is a time when
children must be given a lot of care and attention from their parents but the total opposite
happened in the case of Liz. This is mainly because of the reason that her parents wasted all
money on drugs and did not make any savings for the future or the education of (Liz Gray et al.,
2017).
However, Liz was determined to educate herself and also become a well-established person in
life. She took a job only at the tender age of 8 to support her family and get some food as there
was no food in their house for supporting them. She knew that her mother is sick and wanted to
help her out by being a source of income but this went in vain. She lost her mother due to aids
and her father lost the house. She became homeless (McMillin, 2019). However, she was always
determined to attain school. Anyone else in her place would have broken down and given up
after facing so many obstacles, at such a tender age, like her. However, Liz was firmly
determined to be able to work hard and also get a formal school education.
Ephesians 4:32 ‘be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you’’
The above mentioned Biblical verse is relatable in this aspect. This is mainly because Liz has
always been sad. After all, her father could not provide for her or her elder sister. However, she
had this great quality of forgiving. Therefore it can be said that another most important strength

3INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK
of Liz was compassion. She knew that both her parents were drug addicts and it is because of
them that she could not get any good schooling or education. Even when she was a child she
wanted to become the support system of her family (Hassan, 2019). This is evident from the fact
that she was highly forgiving in nature and also of a compassionate heart. It is because of this
reason that she always tried to ensure that she is being able to help her parents during this
situation and earn money (Gray et al., 2017).
She grew up to be a teenager and lost her mother. She came to know that her mother died
because of aids. Liz knew how to control her emotions and always made it a point to ensure that
she is being able to fight with this situation. With great difficulty, she cleared her school and got
a scholarship to Harvard. On Coursebook, there is a subject called The Core Learning System
which means collect, Organize, rehearse, and evaluate. Liz used this method to gather strengthen
and study to reach her goals (Melnad,2013).

4INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK
References
Baggett, T. P., Chang, Y., Yaqubi, A., McGlave, C., Higgins, S. T., & Rigotti, N. A. (2018).
Financial incentives for smoking abstinence in homeless smokers: a pilot randomized
controlled trial. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 20(12), 1442-1450.
Gray, H. M., Nelson, S. E., Shaffer, H. J., Stebbins, P., & Farina, A. R. (2017). How do homeless
adults change their lives after completing an intensive job‐skills program? A prospective
study. Journal of community psychology, 45(7), 888-905.
Hassan, Z. A. H. (2019). The Themes of Anger and Forgiveness in Friedman's Short Stories"
Second is best" and" Reunion". Mustansiriyah Journal of Arts, 43(87), 45-60.
McMillin, S. E. (2019). Homeless at Harvard: finding faith and friendship on the streets of
Harvard Square.
Melnad, K. (2013). Homeless to Harvard Full Movie. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGe3u5rLGQc&feature=youtu
Warmke, B. (2017). Divine forgiveness I: Emotion and punishment‐forbearance
theories. Philosophy Compass, 12(9), e12440.