Mental-health leaders: We must end pandemic of racism | Commentary by Arthur C. Evans, Jr., Saul Levin, and Angelo McClain
Orlando Sentinel
COVID-19′s disproportionately lethal impact on Black, Latinx and Native American people has revealed just how unequal our nation’s health outcomes are. Meanwhile, the high-profile slayings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and far too many other Black Americans have ignited the biggest wave of protests in more than a half-century — and prompted people of all colors and creeds to acknowledge just how pervasive racism is in our society. The American public is starting to see racism as a public health crisis. Addressing that crisis will require comprehensive change to American life, from our economy and educational system to housing and health care — including the way we approach and treat mental health.

New report says poor and low-income Americans can change the nation’s political landscape
NC Policy Watch
The study was written by Robert Paul Hartley, an assistant professor of social work at Columbia University and a faculty affiliate at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy and the Columbia Population Research Center. The study was released Tuesday by The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. It’s a movement dedicated to changing the narrative and national discourse on poverty, with 140 million poor and low-income people in America. The campaign is co-chaired by North Carolina’s Bishop William Barber II and Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis. The study stressed the importance of reaching eligible low-income voters, who could have an impact on both the 16 U.S. Senate elections and the presidential election.

NASW is cited in this article:
A Roadmap for Re-imagining Public Safety in the United States
Human Rights Watch
The fundamental changes that are essential to addressing police violence and racial discrimination require strengthening affected communities through increased support for a range of community services, and shifting money away from policing to do so. The United States relies too much on police to safeguard public safety and wellbeing. At its root, public safety comes from removing underlying drivers of crime and violence, and from professional responses from social workers, healthcare workers, trained community members, and others who have tools to solve people’s actual problems. Public safety may also be promoted by community institutions that resolve neighborhood disputes and promote safety in non-punitive and rights-respecting ways.

Warren Graham is a member:
Dealing with psychological toll of the coronavirus pandemic
Long Island Herald
Another aspect of the pandemic’s mental health crisis is what clinical social worker Warren Graham described as a “dual consciousness,” in which people are striving to balance their need to practice social distancing with their need to socialize. “It’s causing a lot of internal conflict for people who want that human contact and connection,” Graham said, “but they also want to be safe at the same time.” Graham, who has a private practice in Merrick, said he believed more people should be talking about the mental health effects of the pandemic. “We might not even know the depth to which people are affected until we come out about it,” he said.

NASW is cited:
As COVID-19 crisis raises risk of suicide and mental illness, Americans deserve more help
Roll Call
For these reasons, our legislation has been endorsed by organizations that assist with crucial mental health support, including the American Psychiatric Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Association of Social Workers. At a time of elevated risk of suicides and mental illnesses, we must do more to connect those struggling with resources that can help. It must be addressed head-on. We are committed to working with our colleagues to advance this legislation and provide Nebraskans, Minnesotans and all Americans with relief as they tackle the unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety that have resulted from this pandemic.

Josh Cutler is a member:
Healthcare Looks to Telehealth to Address Physician Burnout, Stress
mHealthIntelligence
The Washington-based health system, with more than 50 hospitals in eight states, rolled out its Telebehavioral Health Concierge program in January 2020, offering virtual care visits with a counselor within two days. They’ve since renamed it the Behavioral Health Concierge program and expanded its reach to include caregivers and family members in Oregon, California and Montana. “We wanted to build something dedicated to caregivers,” says Josh Cutler, a licensed clinical social worker who helped launched the service. “Before and especially during (COVID-19), we have been at the center of an epidemic of burnout and suicide in healthcare. We needed to give (providers) something that would address that on their terms.”

Noël Busch-Armendariz and Maura Nsonwu are members:
How Do You Teach About Human Trafficking?
UT News
After Noël Busch-Armendariz, director of UT’s Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA), was promoted to full professor, it was suggested that she write a book about domestic violence, but she dismissed the idea. Although she understood that writing a book is often the next step for many social scientists after achieving tenure, her focus remained firmly on her research. On top of that, she was still a licensed master social worker (LMSW), so a textbook wasn’t in the cards…. Then I thought, ‘Wait, maybe we’re the ones to write this textbook.’ All of a sudden it clicked.” We” are co-authors Maura Nsonwu, a social work professor (and Busch-Armendariz’s sister) from North Carolina State University, and Laurie Cook Heffron, a former UT doctoral student who’s now an assistant professor at St. Edward’s University. “None of us had written a textbook, but between us we had a half-century of teaching experience, so we knew a lot about pedagogy. And by now about eight years of research on human trafficking.”

How Ralph Lauren does diversity
Vogue
The company called its employees in 64 countries, including workers furloughed in the pandemic, into remote roundtables, using phone lines for unscripted, confidential discussions. Each roundtable was facilitated by a certified social worker or psychologist — though the person’s qualifications weren’t always announced — and managers were guided with training sessions in advance to respond empathetically and to listen rather than speak.

COVID, cash bail and ‘drive-by therapy’: a deadly combination
CT Mirror
Ocasio’s death made national news because of the way he died — using a tool intended for protection as a means of his own destruction — but what it ultimately illustrates isn’t at all unusual but, rather, achingly familiar, say criminal justice advocates. Ocasio’s death, they say, highlights the danger of combining the cash bail system with strained mental health monitoring amid the pandemic – which, like many aspects of Connecticut’s criminal justice system, disproportionately affects people of color.

Montrella Cowan is a member:
40% of Americans struggling with mental health amid COVID-19 pandemic: CDC
KOMONews
The disproportionate impact on communities of color has raised concerns among some mental health professionals that people who need help might avoid seeking it. “When you talk about communities of color, minorities, certainly it’s bigger because there’s that stigma and sometimes out communities consider it a sign of weakness or vulnerability,” said Montrella Cowan, a licensed therapist and clinical social worker in Washington, D.C.

Lindsay Meyer-Thein is a member:
Counselor Helps Children Deal With School Anxiety And The ‘New Normal’ We All Face
The Monmouth Journal
If you or your child are struggling with the “new normal” or there is anxiety in your home regarding the upcoming start of the new school year, Lindsay Meyer-Thein may be able to help. Thein recently opened a mental health therapy practice in Red Bank and has been working in the social work field for 15 years in different settings and capacities. But her most recent tenure has been working in the school setting with all age levels. Although Thein admits she is “newer” to the private practice world, she has extensive experience in the social work world.

Elizabeth Lacasse is a member:
Many months at home could spark new fear, uncertainty about ‘new normal’ for youngsters
The Sun Chronicle
Elizabeth Lacasse believes it stems from the ways the pandemic disrupted the family system. “Parents have taken on a different role as parent, teacher, coach and sometimes friend,” said Lacasse, a clinical social worker in Plainville. “The pandemic has definitely increased the dependence on the family system.” While children generally look to adults for guidance, they typically gain multiple perspectives from other avenues — school, daycare or play dates — Lacasse said.

New partnership will pair Moline officers, social workers
KWQC
The Moline Police Department and the Center for Youth and Family Solutions are partnering up to pair officers and social workers. The police department said in a media release the City Council will vote on a final reading to enter into an agreement with CYFS to “embed social workers at the Moline Police Department.” The police department said the purpose of the agreement is to establish a continuing working relationship and increased access to social work services to individuals that come in contact with the police department who present the need for social work referral or intervention. The project, according to police, has short- and long-term plans.

Hannah Singer is a member:
How to Find a Therapist—or Teletherapist—in 2020
Glamour
A therapist based in Boston, Hannah Singer, a licensed clinical social worker, currently works with clients via Zoom and phone calls through a community mental health center. To support her clients, she tries to ”acknowledge the weirdness,” she says. “I give them the space to grieve that we don’t have answers.”