charity, medical social worker Jacquelyn Kay Basden has tried to make a difference in the lives of others.

Ms Basden has spent all of her professional career helping people in two countries cope with all sorts of ailments.

Ms Basden, of St. George's, currently working at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, spent two years working at a heroin detox unit at a Queen's Hospital in New York.

"I saw people at their lowest,'' she recalled. "With heroin addicts there is a high recidivism rate.

"The majority of them want to change their life because their addiction was causing their families pain.'' During the two years she spent in the detox unit, Ms Basden said she had to cope with a host of horror stories -- but one case in particular left an indelible impression on her.

"The client was a 35-year-old man, an accountant,'' she said. "He came from a well-to-do family.

"He had so many admissions to programmes that he eventually lost his job and his family. He became homeless.

"His addiction took over his life to the point where he took his own life. It affected me greatly.'' Despite tragic outcomes like that case, Ms Basden said she believed that she made a difference.

"When I got there the centre was a grim place,'' she explained. "I helped develop an after-care programme. It basically matched clients up with appropriate after-care programmes.'' Prior to her stint in the detox unit, Ms Basden said she worked as a case manager in a homeless shelter in Long Island.

When she is not working as a medical social worker at the KEMH, Ms Basden shares her knowledge and caring nature as a volunteer with the local AIDS charity -- STAR (Supportive Therapy for AIDS Victims and Their Relatives .

"It can be extremely draining because you want the best for these kids - like you want the best for your own kids.'' Ms Basden also said her medical knowledge gave her an advantage in working with youngsters afflicted with AIDS.

"I'm fortunate to have a medical background, so I understand the disease aspect.'' Recently, Ms Basden was welcomed into the Academy of Certified Social Workers, the oldest and most respected and recognised social work credential.

The Academy was created in 1962 by the National Association of Social Workers in a bid to provide high quality social services for the public.

To be admitted to the Academy, which currently has over 54,000 members, candidates must sit a written exam, acquire professional experience and references.

"You have to complete a two year post-graduate programme and have professional recognition,'' she explained. "I also had to write a four-hour exam.'' Jacquelyn Kay Basden