Brenda Newell is a member:
‘Deep gratitude’ for same-sex decision
The Herald (Everett, WA)
[Brenda] Newell and David Bayless are coordinators of GLOBE, which holds weekly meetings attended by about 40 kids. Among the adult volunteers are several former GLOBE members. A clinical social worker, Newell also has a counseling practice. “I see youths 14, 15, 16 years old who are really struggling. They feel they’re the only one,” she said. Kids are depressed, bullied or just afraid of being different. “We still see a significant increase in suicide rates for youth addressing sexual orientation or gender identity,” Newell said. Sometimes even well-meaning parents aren’t helpful. “The hope from parents is that this is just a phase,” Newell said. Hearing someone say it’s a phase, kids get “another message of shame, that there’s something wrong with you,” Newell said.

The author, Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW, is a member:
The Psychology Behind Ghosting
The Huffington Post
The mysterious disappearing act newly popularized as “ghosting” surfaces as a frequent topic in psychotherapy. Ghosted individuals wonder how and why someone would suddenly disappear following a series of great dates or months of a great relationship. Therapy sessions can begin with a client’s longing to understand the motivation of an elusive ghost.… The term may be relatively new, but ghosting is a long-standing exit strategy that exemplifies the concept of passive aggression.

Lawrence Banks is a member:
[Video] Urban forest revitalizes overgrown, neglected lot in eastern New Orleans
nola.com
The urban forest was recently planted on one of the few lots in the neighborhood that had remained vacant and blighted since Katrina. The tree-filled landscaping with park benches and garden paths was dreamt up by Lawrence Banks, a 65-year-old retired social worker who lives across the street from the lot. “After the devastation of Katrina, all that property was torn down,” Banks said. “What was left was simply overgrowth and so the thought came to me that perhaps it could fit the concept of tree planting and some kind of a sanctuary for little animals, birds.”

‘Navigators’ for cancer patients: A nice perk or something more?
The Washington Post
In the 71 days since she first saw her doctor about a suspicious lump in her right breast, Ricki Harvey has had 40 appointments about her medical care. First came the mammogram, the ultrasound and the biopsy. Then meetings with the surgical oncologist, the radiation oncologist, the general oncologist, the social worker, the geneticist and the physical therapist. Then her twice-weekly chemotherapy infusions. At Harvey’s side every step of the way were “patient navigators” — in her case, nurses — whose job is to help guide cancer patients through a system that has become so complex and fragmented that it is beyond the ken of many people, especially at such a vulnerable time.

Sammy Rangel is a member:
[Video] Sammy Rangel shares his message at TEDx
Journal Times (Racine, WI)
As program director of Racine Vocational Ministry’s Second Chance community re-entry program, Sammy Rangel works with recently released felons, helping them to transform their lives. It was Rangel’s own story of transformation, however, that took center stage recently when he shared it with a global audience at the TEDxDanubia conference in Budapest, Hungary, in May.… A former gang member and ex-convict whose violent tendencies were fueled by an incredibly tortured childhood, Rangel turned his life around following his prison release. Having earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, he has served as a counselor with various agencies and programs in Racine County.