Socialworkersspeaks on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterRSS Feed

Members in the News – April 20, 2023

Keith Cunniffe is a member of NASW-NYS:
“Here Comes Jimmy Hendrix”: A Psychiatrist and Patient Reconnect and Recollect
Psychiatric Times
Cunniffe: I started college at Fordham University in the fall of 1986 looking forward to making new friends and, hopefully, having a girlfriend. I vividly recall early on walking past Keating Hall, the pastoral campus’s centerpiece, and thinking that I felt a kind of darkness that I had never felt before. I wondered, “Is it really possible for a person to feel this terrible?” It was. I sensed that this dark curse would be my companion for years to come, which turned out to be correct. 

Rebekah Gewirtz is executive director of NASW-RI:
Sen. DiMario sponsoring two bills to recruit more mental health professionals
What’s Up Newport
“Social workers are uniquely trained professionals who are very much needed right now, especially in our schools,” said Rebekah Gewirtz with the National Association of Social Workers RI. “Social workers can address behavioral and mental health issues so educators can concentrate on teaching. Targeted student debt relief is a big step, and we’re grateful to Senator DiMario for focusing on the mental health needs of our students.”

Amelia Lochner Malavé is director of Operations & Development for NASW-NYS:
NYS Social Workers Group Calls for More Funding for Veterans’ Mental Health Program
Chautauqua Today
A group of New York State social workers wants more funding for a veterans’ mental health program. The Veterans Mental Health Training Initiative educates community providers about veteran-specific issues and cultural competency for working with them. The group seeks $100,000 to fund a position to link the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project with the clinicians in the initiative. Amelia Lochner-Malavé with the National Association of Social Workers New York Chapter says it’s important to learn how to help providers.

Karen Bullock is a member of NASW-MA:
Medicare tests a solution to soaring hospice costs: Let private insurers run it
WUSF
Many experts believe that harsh choice between giving up hope and getting help from hospice — along with the arbitrary six-month cutoff — combine to repel many patients who could otherwise benefit. Only about one-third of Native, Asian, Black and Hispanic patients elect hospice compared to about half of white patients. “One of the reasons that Black people shy away from hospice is because there isn’t room to reevaluate,” said Karen Bullock, a licensed clinical social worker and a professor at Boston College. “It’s too finite.”

Hillary Vervalin is a member of NASW-CO:
Opinion: We tried lock-’em-up before, and it didn’t work
The Colorado Sun
Throwing money at a correctional crisis will only exacerbate Colorado’s reliance on prisons over people. Instead, we must improve access to community mental health and substance abuse treatment and affordable housing — not bankroll more prison beds. Contact Gov. Polis today and tell him the corrections department does not need a budget of more than $1 billion.

Senate committee considers removing restrictions on fentanyl tests
Columbia Missourian
Jessica Petrie, a lobbyist representing the Missouri chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, testified in favor of the bill, stating that access to test strips allows people to behave more safely and take precautions to prevent overdose. “Studies have shown that individuals who have access to fentanyl test strips actually do modify their behavior,” Petrie said. “By potentially discarding a batch or having (anti-overdose medication) Naloxone on hand, or whatever the case may be.”

Lenore Shepard is a member of NASW-MA:
Serious about sleep: Body’s restorative process crucial to health
Greenfield Recorder
One of the biggest factors affecting our ability to feel replenished upon waking is our stress response. Apart from physical sleep disorders, stress is one of the biggest factors that affects and inhibits our ability to get nourishing, routine sleep. So what happens during sleep and how can we enhance our sleep hygiene and by extension our health?

Jennifer Staffero is a member of NASW-CA:
Alvarado-Gil brings fight for rape legislation to Stan State
Turlock Journal
Sharing the dais with Alvarado-Gil were Jennifer Staffero, a licensed clinical social worker and the clinical lead counselor for counseling and psychological services at CSUS; Brandy Spencer, director of youth and prevention services for Haven Women’s Center; student representative Camrynn Loveall, associate dean of students Clarissa Lonn; and Chief Clint Strode of the CSUS police department.

Shakti Sutriasa is a member of NASW-WA:
Embracing Change May Be The Key To Long-Term Marital Success
The List
Shakti Sutriasa, a Washington-based licensed clinical social worker, wrote for the Huffington Post, suggesting that couples make room for a new normal that allows for new routines as changes occur. Additionally, she suggests that couples make room for change by providing each other with a nonjudgmental space to share. Marriage is a commitment as well as an opportunity for self-discovery and getting to witness someone you love and care about expanding into a fuller version of themselves.

Zhaniizha Khanii-Kevii is a member of NASW-NYS:
Social worker staffing is at ‘bare-bones’ level in New York
Spectrum News
Zhaniizha Khanii-Kevii has served more than 30 years as a staff supervising social worker with Sullivan County Department of Community Services Mental Health Clinic. She knew she wanted to go into social work starting when she was a junior in college. “I’ve been with Sullivan County since 1985. June 1985 is when I started, a week after I graduated from Fordham University, and I’ve been with the county ever since,” said Khanii-Kevii. She said her college professor inspired her to go into the field dedicated to helping others.

|   Leave A Comment

Advertisement