Back in 1984 when I proudly left NYU’s school of social work with my MSW degree in hand, I felt like I was entering a profession where I could effectively help people make a change in their daily lives. My first job, at a group residence for teenagers who had left the hospital but were unable to return home for various reasons paid little, but was emotionally rewarding. Throughout the years, I worked with a variety of Organizations in various roles always feeling like I made a difference in people’s lives. In recent years, while working at a Mental Health Clinic, I became involved in Working with teenagers in the community. Many of these young people were involved in gangs. By getting an understanding of these young people and their families, I was able to intervene in a helpful manner. When the Mental Health Clinic ceased operations due to a lack of profitability, I began working at Rikers, first on a “Bloods Dorm” then doing suicide watch assessments and finally, serving as Clinician in a Program House developed as an alternative to 23 hour solitary confinement for inmates who had multiple, violent infractions. In each case the most important factor in successfully working with the clientele that I worked with and making a difference was the result of having a unique ability to work with the population. This ability comes from experience and incorporates several factors including personality, style of relating, and an “intuitive sense”. It can’t be “taught” and there is no “evidence based” protocol that is connected to it. See, life isn’t “Evidence Based”. Life is being human and we as living creatures relate to others as human beings, not as scientific experiments. At the present time, however, I have been placed in an environment that is “evidence based driven” to the point that it feels like the uniqueness of the individuals are dismissed as irrelevant or seen as “variables” that gets in the way of accurate data analysis. Hopefully, I’ll soon find a way to once again use the unique talents and abilities that I’ve used in the past to help others.