March is Social Work Month and this year’s theme is Social Work Breaks Barriers.
Organized by the National Association of Social Workers, Social Work Month casts a spotlight on social work and the nation’s more than 700,000 social workers – one of the fastest growing professions in the country. As the population ages, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the need for social work services will increase to more than 800,000 by the year 2030.
A team led by Vivian Lyons, a researcher at the UW School of Social Work’s Social Development Research Group, has linked above-average temperatures at any time of the year with an increased risk of shootings. The interdisciplinary study, the largest to date on the issue, was conducted with data from 2015-2020.
Many in power are actively working to erase Black experiences, resilience, suffering, strength and progress by making it illegal to teach Black history at all levels of education throughout many regions of the United States. The School of Social Work recognizes this as anti-Black racism at its most insidious and virulent.
On February 1, mourners gathered to honor the life of Tyre Nichols, who was murdered by Memphis police in January. We are heartbroken, sickened and outraged by his murder and the lack of response from first responders. As much as we dedicate our hearts, minds and actions to improving justice for our communities, the prolonged legacy of racism and structural violence in America continues.
Rosalie Fish, a social welfare major at the UW School of Social Work, has packed a lot into the last few years. She has proven herself on the track field at UW Athletics, and is a 2022 recipient of a Truman Scholarship – one of only 58 students selected nationwide for this prestigious award. A member of the Muckleshoot and Cowlitz tribes, Fish plans to graduate with a BASW in June 2024.