©Thinkstock

Social workers in high demand: Opioid crisis exacerbating shortage
The Journal Gazette (IN)
As record overdose deaths raise alarms, there is yet another twist to the opioid crisis: a shortage of social workers. IUPUI reported last week that the drug epidemic has helped fuel the shortage, and addiction is just part of the problem. Addicts cannot properly care for their children, so issues spill over to the child welfare system as well, said Michael Patchner, dean of IUPUI School of Social Work. “The demand for social workers has always been high, but it is particularly true now,” Patchner said in a news release. “There are workforce shortages in the state in mental health and addictions, in child welfare and medical social work.”

Kilolo Brodie is a member:
Social Work Professor Appointed to California State Council on Developmental Disabilities
Stanislaus State
Kilolo Brodie, an associate professor in the Master of Social Work program, was recently appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to serve on Area Board VI of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD). The SCDD works to ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities receive the services and support they need. Brodie is also a member of the National Down Syndrome Congress and currently serves on the CSU Stanislaus Affirmative Action and Diversity Committee.

Logan Keziah-Hamill is on the NASW-NC Board of Directors
Social worker’s perspective
Reflector.com
As a clinical social worker providing family crisis intervention services, I work with many of our communities most vulnerable: families facing crises due to deep poverty, grief and loss, homelessness, health and mental health issues and more. One of the biggest barriers families in crisis have to get things moving forward again is a lack of access to health care, both physical and behavioral care.

Chris Budnick is a member:
[Video] In Focus: Struggles opioid users face
Spectrum News (Charlotte, NC)
Chris Budnick of Healing Transitions and Hon. Judge Julius Corpening talk about the struggles opioid users face and its damaging effects on families.

Jim May is a member:
At the end of her life, my mother started seeing ghosts, and it freaked me out
The Washington Post
Jim May, a licensed clinical social worker in Durham, N.C., said that family members — and patients themselves — are frequently surprised by these deathbed visitors, often asking him to help them understand what is happening. “I really try to encourage people, whether it’s a near-death experience or a hallucination, to just go with the flow,” May explained after I told him about my mom’s visitations. “Whatever they are experiencing is real to them.”

Starr Nolan is a member:
WNC anglers named to Fly-Fishing Hall of Fame
Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC)
Starr Nolan has spent countless mesmerized hours on mountain streams, slowly and steadily casting her fly rod for the perfect rainbow trout. She can get lost in the peacefulness, the river, the solitude. But she realized nearly 20 years ago that the calming, soothing sport of fly-fishing can benefit so many others, especially those recovering from the emotional and physical trauma of cancer. Her efforts have placed her in the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame of the Southern Appalachian Fly Fishing Museum. Nolan became a volunteer with Casting for Recovery in Asheville, part of a national organization that takes women in any stage of breast cancer on free, weekend retreats to learn the gentle art of fly-fishing. She started her own retreats, Casting Carolinas, two years ago. Nolan will be honored in the Hall of Fame’s first-time humanitarian category, said Alen Baker, who started the Fly Fishing Museum.

Kristen Lilla is a member:
How To Tell Your Partner You Have An STI
Refinery29
If you have an STI, it’s your responsibility to tell your partners before you have sex, says Kristen Lilla, LCSW, a sex therapist and sexuality educator. That way, your partner can make an informed decision that’s right for them. “There’s no law about discussing your STI status, but it is the ethical thing to do for your health and someone else’s,” Lilla says.

Marina Lenderman is a member:
How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Relationship
Psychology Today
“Insecurity [in relationships ] is inevitable because everybody has issues to work on,” says psychotherapist Marina Lenderman, LCSW. “It’s critical to know what yours are. Awareness comes with behavior. For example, if you frequently pick fights or start blaming your partner, awareness has been lost. Both people have a role in conflict, so it’s important to be aware how much of it is your part.”

Marie Williams is a member:
Deadly drug fentanyl popping up more and more in Tennessee
Fox 17 News (Nashville, TN)
“The increased occurrence of fentanyl and fentanyl derivatives in counterfeit pills, along with the fact it is being mixed with heroin and other drugs, makes it more important than ever for those struggling with substance use disorders to seek help now,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW. “While the criminals selling products containing fentanyl don’t care about their victims, we urge the friends and family members who do care about their loved ones to reach out for help for those they know that are dealing with a substance use disorder. Help is available now by calling the toll-free Tennessee REDLINE at 1-800-889-9789. One phone call may just save a loved one’s life.”