Cheers to the Seattle Times for citing the work of social workers in this article about a homeless woman who gave birth Wednesday morning in a squalid, makeshift camp under Highway 500. Temperatures that night dipped to 35 degrees and an emergency crew had to hack through blackberry brambles to provide aid. Baby and mother are fine and social workers rallied to help them:

“Though he couldn’t speak specifically about the teen mother’s case due to federal privacy laws, (South Washington) medical center spokesman Ken Cole said that when a homeless woman gives birth at Southwest, she is immediately connected with a social worker. From there, they work with places like Share, or Vida’s Ark, a teen shelter. They also work to get a mother signed up for Medicaid. Finally, a social worker from Washington Department of Social & Health Services will help her qualify for food stamps and cash assistance, he said. ‘They would not leave the hospital without resources,’ Cole said.”