how do we help people?

a few questions i had today at the care center:

*how do we really help people??

*do programs help or enable people? take the care center: women are in the program for either 30 days, 6 months-1 year, and some 18 months. how are we helping them in that time? they go to Bible study, do work around the center, and go to addictions classes and healthy relationship classes, but what are we really doing to help them? in some programs they get job training and try to find a job, but for some people, it can be 6-12 months of no job, and then when their time is up, they are expected to find a job. i was talking to a case worker today and she said how alot of the ladies come in and out of the program and how 6 months to a year is too long to be in a program, which leads back to my question...how are we helping these women? i'll be honest...i want a concrete answer, but i don't think there is one.

*how do you help people who don't want to help themselves? a lady came in today. a user for years. came to the shelter in '03, hasn't had a stable home since then and only wants to stay for 5 days until her BF gets a check to buy a house. clearly, i can see that this woman needs help. but she doesn't see it. so, i just pray for her and be Jesus to her for 5 days and then send her off...hmmm.is it enough?? God can use that 5 days in any way, and we can plant the seed...it just doesn't seem like enough....

like andrew says...we forget that we are not the ones who save people, God is the one who saves them. and then i think of the emery song, listening to freddie mercury, [[we are all the same people/ with sinning hearts that make us equal/ here is my hand, not words said desperately/ it's not our job to make anyone believe]]

i'm struggling with bridging the gap between what i am learning here and my own views and ideas about helping others and what i learn at school about helping people and 'how to be a social worker.' it's tough business....