Women look through boxes of donated Christmas gifts at the Stark Social Workers Network. Photo courtesy of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Cheers to the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio for this article on the Stark Social Workers Network, a nonprofit organization that helps people who are the hardest to help.

Beverly Jordan, a former social worker at the Department of Jobs and Family Services, started the network in 1989 to help people who fell through the cracks at traditional social service agencies. Jordan said these are usually people who “have hard luck all their lives.”

The network’s clients have included a woman who was illiterate and could not fill out a job applications so came to the network for reading classes. Another client was an African American man who had been in prison most of his life and had developed an intense dislike of white people.

After six months of taking classes to help him live outside of prison this man realized his anger was keeping him from getting employed. He also learned to overcome his mistrust of white people.

A factory in Canton hired him and he is now one of the company’s most valued employees.

To learn more about how social workers help people from all walks of life overcome life’s challenges, visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Website by clicking here.