Social Workers Are Essential: Alumni Reflections

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

The pandemic as a public health crisis has been a reminder of the importance of macro work. Through this pandemic social workers have been leaders in attempting to rally our communities and organizations to make pivots for our workforce and the individuals we serve. Maintaining our core values at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice will be key as we continue to navigate the pandemic.

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

As someone who does home and community based work, the pandemic has had a tremendous impact on my on my job. For months we were operating almost all virtually. This was challenging at times but also offered a surprising opportunity to engage for youth and families that were ok with the medium. As the world opens up more, I look forward to getting back and visiting schools and homes. I hope the option for telemedicine remains, not as a primary tool but a potential adjunct for face to face contacts. 

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and support as we move forward post-pandemic.

As we move post-pandemic the effects of the last year on children and families will need to be assessed. Some will be relieved that schools, jobs, and recreational opportunities have opened. Others will struggle or have already started to struggle. Our response will need to be individualized. Now more than ever the child serving system will need to coordinate care. Schools, pediatricians, and outpatient mental health clinicians will be on the frontlines and have to work together to assess the needs of youth.  

4) In your opinion, what are the most important things schools of social work should be teaching students right now?

As a part-time social work educator, I feel that program design and evaluation has become a critical aspect of our work. Especially thinking about how to best utilize technology and to think critically about its effects on the individuals and communities we work in. On a micro level students will need to discuss opportunities/risks of technology, not just in field education but also in the classroom setting.  

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

In the context of COVID19, the intersections of physical health, mental wellbeing, and housing stability cannot be overstated. As we continue to navigate the pandemic, a strategic approach to disrupting intensified systemic socio-economic problems is imperative, and the role of social workers in this process is critical. Social workers have been key responders addressing the ongoing fallout of the pandemic by meeting immediate human needs. In that process of serving vast numbers of people who are suffering pandemic-related challenges including mental health issues, social workers are also positioned to articulate patterns of widespread unmet needs. From that experience comes power to influence narratives which impact social policy. The multi-level societal role that social workers inhabit is most urgent in this time of public health crisis and will remain essential during the period of recovery.

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

As a social worker who serves tenants and works on housing policy issues, my work and that of my organization ramped up immediately with the pandemic. Tenant services have been utilized at unprecedented rates and rental housing instability is more widespread than ever. In addition, the policy analysis aspect of my job intensified. I provide housing information and education to so many people – from HUD officials, to senators, to tenants I meet at the corner store. Every week, and sometimes daily, there are policies at the local, state, and federal level with significant impacts on housing. I am contacted by tenants, social workers, and other stakeholders with the question – “What does this policy actually mean for me and how will it impact me/the people I serve?”. We deserve polices that are more intentional than what we have seen over the last year. Without deliberate and longer-term policies, the intense utilization of direct housing services and policy translation will not be temporary. Social workers have a responsibility to speak out on what it will take for society to heal.

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.

When I think about allocations of resources and supports as a social worker, I try to be intentional and convey a future that I know is necessary. Today and post-pandemic, our shared cultural process of meeting human needs must collectively shift from a ration-based austerity approach to a framework of abundance. Social workers are as guilty as anyone of fighting over resources – and upholding or even creating barriers to those resources. As someone who has worked with thousands of low-income tenants, I experience how communities overwhelmingly suffer from pervasive disinvestment – from housing to health care, education to food access. I maintain a housing first perspective and I have experienced that people are more able to seek preventative health care, maintain stable education, and access food when they have stable housing. However, I try not to engage with the ranking of basic needs or impoverished narratives surrounding our collective ability to meet them. There are more than enough resources in our society. What we require is the societal will to distribute resources equitably today and post-pandemic.

4) In your opinion, what are the most important things schools of social work should be teaching students right now?

I believe that social work education should be approached with a theory of change at every possible juncture – I like to think about it as social change work. Most sanctioned social systems do not afford people adequate dignity in even the most basic areas of life. So, in my opinion, social work education (SWE) should encourage students to develop an experimental framework of critical thinking. Regularly challenging students to consider how action and inaction in the SW field serves to either disrupt or perpetuate oppression is imperative. I would love to see SWE shift away from repetitive clinical studies that sometimes normalize systems of oppression. Young social workers should be trained to approach social injustice in terms of uprooting it rather than managing with it. Learning the history of nonviolent movements was also integral to my personal SWE, but I had to work on that with a different University Department. I think a more interdisciplinary, creative, and experimental curriculum that asks the right questions of students will bring us closer to the world we want to live in, with future social workers playing a major role in getting us there.

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

Social workers have an opportunity to highlight the unique, and often complex, needs of the people and communities we are serving. As with many professions, social work allows us to gather intimate knowledge of how best to provide care to those in need by listening to those very individuals and doing the work to ensure systems and processes have flexibility and are adjusted accordingly. In our work with people experiencing homeless, we have recognized and acknowledged that their needs during this public health crisis might look very different from community members who are stably housed, connected to healthcare, able to prioritize their health, have access to safe and hygienic spaces, etc. It is our responsibility to use our voices to speak up and advocate for flexible and adaptable ways of providing care such as COVID testing, education, and vaccinations.  Over the past two months, there has been a significant effort to provide options for COVID vaccinations for people living in emergency shelters, and our staff has been sharing feedback with the entities providing clinics in order to highlight the need for bringing vaccines right to where people already are, including shelters and community centers. Social work continues to be the bridge between entities that determine access to resources and the voices of those most in need, and this has been highlighted more than ever in the past 12 months.

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

While our organization has always made efforts to recognize and appreciate our employees and the difficult work they do, the onset of the pandemic kicked into high gear our need to truly understand their experiences, particularly for our case managers and direct support staff who were quickly recognized as being essential to the day-to-day care of our shelter residents. The unique aspect of the pandemic, as opposed to other, more individual or department-specific challenges we typically face, is that we were all experiencing its effects on both professional and personal levels. While those experiences were all very different, the fact that everything became more difficult – our work lives and home lives – allowed for even more empathy, compassion, and understanding, especially by those of us at the administrative level. As an administrator, my role over the past year has largely focused on ensuring our employees are supported, kept safe, and kept up to date as policies are developed and, often, changed. The challenges of the past year have emphasized the importance of teamwork, morale, training, and much of my work lately has centered around those 3 areas. At the community level, as a Co-Chair of our Albany County Coalition on Homelessness, my work last spring quickly shifted to focusing primarily on how COVID was affecting people experiencing homelessness, as well as how homeless services agencies themselves were being impacted, and coordinating resources and funding that has, fortunately, continued to come into our community. The pandemic has highlighted much of what was working well as well as what needed improving – within our agency, within systems, etc. – and the work that has come from this past year will bring about long-lasting positive change.

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.

When I think about social work, I think about underserved groups and about people who have really complex needs that aren’t being met by the way our current systems are designed. We desperately need to get at the heart of what is causing so much pain in our communities – racism, poverty, discrimination and the trauma they bring – and recognize that some of our current ways of addressing these wrongs aren’t working and are, instead, actually exacerbating the problems and the harm that’s been caused.

4) In your opinion, what are the most important things schools of social work should be teaching students right now?

That’s an interesting question because I honestly don’t know what a school could have taught me to prepare for the past year. When I interview someone for a position or talk about what our days look like, I always talk about flexibility. In the work I do, we all have to be ready and willing to jump in and do whatever it takes to help the people who need us the most. But I don’t know if that’s something that is taught as much as it’s a drive that some people just innately have more than others. Facing the challenges of the past year would have been impossible without an incredibly compassionate, flexible, driven team of employees who were willing to go well beyond their roles to ensure we could keep our doors open and provide safe and supportive places for people to be during such an uncertain time. Along those lines, despite an individual social worker’s role in an organization, leadership qualities are always going to be essential. Using those skills to assist a person sitting across from us, leading teams of staff, or affecting change within our organizations and the greater community will always be central to social work.

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

The pandemic demonstrated skills that social workers have in the greater community, especially in education. I always have said that one of the greatest skills social workers have is “to make it work.” The pandemic showed this. In the beginning of the pandemic no one knew how to navigate systems or meet our student’s needs. This included hybrid learning, how to utilize technology to connect with others on a deeper level and adapting to a new normal. I found that through all this social workers were able to jump in, make a game plan and make changes as time went on. This was demonstrated across education, as social workers broke down barriers to connecting with families from a distance, providing distance learning, doing tasks out of the norm and assisting educators, families and administrators to adapt. This will continue to be critical as protocols, rules, and our system changes and as the pandemic changes the lives of many.  

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

Working in higher education, our daily task changed dramatically. Our priority was always health and safety; however health and safety was suddenly broken down into two clear categories- mental health and physical. My job working in higher education began to encompass so much more than just helping students academically. It became more focused on the overall well-being of our students. Being isolated and being in quarantine has taken a toll on our students. We began thinking outside of the box on how we can connect with our students virtually. The concept of “grab n go” programs became popular and students enjoyed them. That is something here to stay. We began developing ways that students can connect in-person and virtually. Now we know how to utilize technology to connect students regardless of location. This has helped build a stronger community among residents and educators. Additionally, I found that conversations regarding depression, anxiety, and mental health became more real and open. I find that the pandemic has assisted in shifting the stigma of mental health. Students are becoming more comfortable saying “I’m not okay” or “I am struggling with anxiety today.” I hope this conversation is something that will stay after the pandemic.  

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.

Mental health services in education and work towards building relationships with our administrators. Our students have gone through so much at such a young age within the last year and have lost key coping skills over the year. We need to ensure that students know their resources and feel comfortable talking to teachers, staff, and administrators when they are not okay and need help. Social workers have the power to bridge that gap, advocate for need, and build connections. Once students are able meet their basic mental health needs- their learning abilities are endless.  

4) In your opinion, what are the most important things schools of social work should be teaching students right now?

Self-awareness. Self-reflection and boundaries. I find that social workers don’t always admit when they are burned out and need support. That could be dangerous, and we cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves. It is so important to be able to advocate for ourselves as much as our clients. Schools of social work should help teach students how to have important conversations regarding self-care, limitations, and boundaries in the professional setting. These can be tough conversations to have and many are unprepared to have these conversations. Self-care and boundaries will allow us to give more to our own clients and community we serve. 

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

I am currently employed at SUNY System administration and the impact is beyond what could be articulated. All of our 64 campuses have been gravely impacted from students to faculty, professional staff, and administrators.  Everything that was previously done had to change in a very short period of time and things are still not the way they were prior to the pandemic. We are still working remotely, classes are being offered in a hybrid models, or in some cases, are still completely remote. It has turned out world upside down. The impact on our students and staffs mental health has also been devastating with cuts to funding and pressure on counseling centers, which were already at capacity at an all-time high. As a social worker in this capacity, I am able to bring my knowledge and expertise in the area of mental health as the policies and decisions are being made. SUNY has also enacted a Mental Health and Wellness Task Force which I have a role in. Social workers are more critical than ever and need to be in all spaces where policies and decisions that impact the well-being of constituents are made.
 

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

I (like so many others) have been working remotely since March 2020. All of our meetings are via Zoom or Microsoft teams. Like others, I am coping and working through Zoom fatigue, sadness, and high stress as we work to get to the other side of this pandemic. I have also changed roles during this time, which is over all positive but quite challenging during a pandemic when all of the interactions with others are via a screen. As far as what is here to stay, I think we will see more hybrid work models for staff as well as this practice continued for our students. I think Zoom meetings are here to stay as well.  

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.

As a higher education administrator, I see first-hand the need for resources in the areas of mental health, counseling centers etc. across the campuses. We are in a crisis and the more resources, the better. There is also a need for more qualified mental health staff, and unfortunately, there is a hiring freeze due to COVID that makes it difficult for many campuses to increase capacity. As a social worker, I would love to see more clinical social workers working to support our students during this difficult time as we bring a specific skill set that encompasses many areas.  

4) In your opinion, what are the most important things schools of social work should be teaching students right now?

Crisis management, trauma informed care and DEI education. In addition to the pandemic, race relations have taken an awful turn and this absolutely needs to be taught.  

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?  

Social Workers are critical because we make ourselves readily available to the people we are serving and their families. Many of us go into this field to help other people and during this pandemic it is needed now more than ever. The pandemic has made it increasingly difficult for us to reach people we serve and has limited the resources and support we are able to provide them. 

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

People living with Alzheimer's and other dementia's face a tremendous amount of challenges every day and the pandemic has increased these challenges exponentially. The isolation and change in routine has often resulted in an increase in confusion and/or challenging behaviors. Many persons with Alzheimer's have not had access to their Adult Day programs or home care staff which results in a reduction in socialization and a lack of much needed respite for family caregivers. There is less resources and support available to provide families during these difficult times. Historically, most of our services were conducted in-person but during the pandemic we are restricted to over the phone or virtual. Technology has allowed us to continue our services but not without limitations. Many older adults do not have access to or are comfortable utilizing technology. Unfortunately, all of these limitations combined have resulted in us serving less people. By being forced into these new methods of outreach, we have learned that we have the ability to connect with people we may not of previously, due to environmental or geographical restrictions. Once we return to normal, we are expecting to connect with more people by utilizing both of these methods.  

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.  

African Americans/Blacks are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than white Americans, and Hispanic/Latinos are one to one and a half times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than white Americans. They are also less likely to be diagnosed. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the healthcare disparities that exist between racial and ethnic groups due to economic and social conditions. For many people in racial and ethnic minority groups, unstable housing and subpar access to health-enhancing resources may make it difficult to follow the necessary precautions to prevent contracting COVID-19 or to seek treatment if they get sick. During public health emergencies, these conditions can isolate people even more from the resources needed to prepare and keep their families safe. These diverse and underserved communities need much more support and resources.

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

Though social workers are already crucial to the community, the pandemic has made us even more so. From providing mental health counseling to assisting with navigation of ever-changing state policies and rules, social workers are always present in some capacity to maintain the wellbeing of society. Problem solving, flexibility, and adaptability are major components of the social work profession and have been absolutely critical in the supporting both individuals and our communities over the past year. Fortunately, social workers are well equipped to handle challenges and in providing support to others while overcoming them.

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

My job has changed quite a bit over the past year, both due to changes within my agency and due to the changing nature of my field of practice and new state regulations. I recently became the Interim Director of Residential Clinical Services after the Clinical Director retired. We have had to be very creative in working with our residential youth for sessions, particularly when units were under quarantine. Due to technological limitations, telehealth sessions were not always feasible and engagement over the phone could be quite difficult at times. Myself and the therapists I supervise did not shift to working remotely as we felt we would not be able to meet the needs of the youth. For a long time, we shifted to a staggered schedule to limit those of us in the office at the same time. We have maintained the flexibility of this approach with our scheduling, which has benefited the youth and families we serve and allows for more freedom when we make our schedules each week.

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.

In the residential program at St. Anne’s, our population is hard to place adolescent females. The youth who come to us have greater needs and more intense, complex trauma than we have ever seen before. The foster care system aims to place youth in the least restrictive setting possible. However, since the goal is for less foster care youth to be placed in residential care, the funding and resources available to those who are in residential have become much more limited. This leaves youth without families/kinship resources, or who have been unsuccessful in lower levels of care, with more limited resources to have these higher needs met.

4) In your opinion, what are the most important things schools of social work should be teaching students right now?

Self-care is frequently toted as being bubbles baths or relaxing with a glass of wine. What self-care really means is setting boundaries to maintain a healthy work life balance, making sure you are eating and drinking well throughout the day and at home, and incorporating periods of rest in order to be able to do our jobs long term. Particularly now when social work is so crucial, it is important to remember to slow down and take time to rest, re-evaluate, and create a game plan. Sometimes it feels like we get so caught up crisis and matters of urgency that we do not actually get to take the time to find out and prevent what started the fire, we are only worried about putting it out.

1) What started off as a public health crisis has evolved into a growing mental health challenge over the past year. How has the social work profession been, and will continue to be, critical as we navigate through this pandemic?

The pandemic led to increased level of isolation, anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges especially with vulnerable and at-risk population not knowing what to do, who to talk to, how to navigate or get the support they need to survive this period. Social workers were able to step in and assist these individuals and families either by assisting clients in navigating services or by providing these essential services and necessary resources – health, mental health, social, educational, socio-economic life. Moving forward, social work would remain critical and essential as we navigate through this pandemic.

2) As a social worker, how has your job shifted during the pandemic? What changes do you feel are here to stay?

The pandemic took away the in-person services and ushered in the virtual assistance which, in so many ways, affected the delivery of services. It is evident that trust is at the core of the services we provide to our population and providing these services over the phone or via video calls have been really challenging. As a social worker in a gun violence reduction program, there is always the need to show up in-person and have the interpersonal relationship to build trust as this fosters the ability to impact and make the desired change. The pandemic further threatened the process as we only provide services via phone calls and video calls. This has also threatened the number of referrals, leading to a limited access to social services. Social workers have had to do more with less resources because there's an increasing need while the pandemic has decreased access.

3) Social workers are essential. Thinking about the population(s) you work with, what areas need to be given more resources and supports as we move forward post-pandemic.

As a social worker in a gun violence reduction program working with at-risk minority youths, COVID 19 has taken away a lot from this population. The level of inequality in our society has further subjected this population to more hardship with respect to education - access to laptops and other remote learning technology to allow them catch up with schoolwork, and social life as they are unable to play the normal games and social activities. There is a need to provide more resources towards enhancing the socio-emotional and interpersonal relationship of our youths, more access and resources geared towards their education, and promote healthy socialization.