Treat of the Day: A&M women’s basketball wins social change awards
KBTX (Bryan, TX)
“The Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Team exemplifies the very qualities of community engagement and support that resonate with social work,” said Executive Director of the Texas Chapter of NASW Will Francis, “they used the visibility of their roles and their voices as leaders to show that supporting antiracist movements is just as much about action as it is conversation.”

Amy Moncion is a member:
Essential Work: Keeping Families Safe
West Orlando News
I’ll be honest: It’s been a long year for social workers. As advocates for child welfare, we know how to handle a full plate. In a good year, we’re busy helping families navigate financial hardship, job loss and even homelessness. When parents are struggling with mental illness or substance abuse disorder, we connect them with the resources to recover. We advocate for kids in schools, doctor’s offices, courtrooms and living rooms.

White Ribbon VA partnership – Harassment-free environment
VAntage Point
In 2020, VA partnered with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and White Ribbon USA, the largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls and to promote gender equity, healthy relationships, and a new version of masculinity. This collective partnership, White Ribbon VA, aims to eliminate sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence in VA facilities and surrounding communities, and to promote positive change in organizational culture.

Social workers could be embedded with Racine Police Department
The Journal Times
When the prospect of embedding social workers in police departments gained traction after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, some balked at it. But in his final months with the Racine Police Department, Chief Art Howell tried to lay the foundation for such a program. A plan being considered in Racine wouldn’t send social workers in the place of cops to 911 calls, but social workers-in-training may be brought in to assist in certain scenarios in what could be of benefit to community members in crisis, stretched-thin police units and taxpayers.

Amy Mudd is a member:
[Video] ‘It’s because of me’: COVID survivors struggle with guilt over loss of loved ones
WHAS
Amy Mudd, a licensed clinical social worker, said the guilt is not permanent and there are ways to get through it. “There was something horrible that happened, but where is the good still…[look] for opportunities to give back and contribute in some way,” Mudd said. “The good news is that we have a lot of options that will work. If they can find a therapist they feel they can connect with that they can trust, and they try out the techniques and they figure out which one is right for them, then there is a lot of hope.”

Andrea Mazzarino is a member:
A Military Spouse’s Perspective on the Pentagon’s Flawed Response to the Pandemic
Common Dreams
Now, let me turn to my own family. My husband is a naval officer and we’re privileged. We have three graduate degrees between us and dual incomes. I can do most of my job as a clinical social worker serving people from the armed forces and war-afflicted countries at home. My husband recently transferred from a remarkably pandemic-exposed Pentagon to a civilian agency post where he can also largely work from home (except — sigh — when someone from the Pentagon must be greeted in person).

1. Diane Barth is a member:
   Best bullet journal supplies for beginners and how to get started
   NBC News
   By identifying daily stressors, bullet journaling can even benefit your mental and physical health, according to recent studies.Psychotherapist F. Diane Barth, LCSW, recently told NBC News that bullet journaling can be a useful aid to our well-being since it can help us track our habits and moods, and thus better process emotions and release intrusive thoughts.

Jesse Bennett is a member:
Behind needle exchange bill, a spat between Asheville site and its new neighbors
North Carolina Health News
Another bill provision requires all needle exchange workers to pass a background check. This would make many ineligible to work because many people working in harm reduction have a history of substance use, which often includes past encounters with the criminal justice system. Their experience makes them effective at relating in a non-judgmental way to people seeking clean drug use supplies. Both Brown and the director of the NC Harm Reduction Coalition Jesse Bennett have prior criminal records. Bennett said the government cannot tell private organizations not to hire people with criminal backgrounds.

Laura Hunt is a member:
Managing stress and burnout during a pandemic
Spectrum News
As the owner and founder of Pinnacle Behavioral Health, Laura Hunt keeps in constant contact with the team of doctors and other clinicians who treat patients directly. A licensed clinical social worker, Hunt says the firm has found a way to offer care every day since the pandemic began, and is in the midst of its busiest year in two decades. “Especially now, mental health is so significant because the suicide rate has almost doubled at this point,” Hunt said. “It was high before the pandemic, and now it is even higher because of the isolation.”

Robin Barnett is a member:
Surprising Side Effects of Not Drinking Alcohol, Say Experts
Eat This, Not That
Alcohol consumption is one of the most avoidable risk factors for cancer. Alcohol use accounts for about 6% of all cancers and 4% of all cancer deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. “Your pancreas and liver, areas of your body constantly taxed by alcohol, are the most at risk for developing cancer,” explains behavioral health expert Robin Barnett, EdD, LCSW, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and author of Addict in the House.

Courtney Brunner is a member:
[Video] Addressing mental health in rural communities
KARE (WI)
“I’ve just been really grateful for the opportunity to be here for my community,” Courtney Brunner says. As a licensed social worker in Ellsworth, Wisconsin – Brunner sees how tough it can be for people to open up about their mental health. “I see that ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ mentality,” Brunner says. “There’s guilt and shame centered around asking for help.”