Chris Martin is a member:
[Video] Social Work Professor Discusses Proposed Iowa Bill to Ban Teaching from the 1619 Project Materials
WQAD
The anti-1619 Project bill was introduced in the Iowa House and has passed a subcommittee.  It would ban the use of “The 1619 Project” curriculum in public schools, including K-12, community colleges and public universities. WQAD’s Katherine Bauer interviews Saint Ambrose University social work professor Chris Martin about the proposed ban.

Pamela Ruzi is a member:
Social workers are essential — especially at Hospice of the Valley
Daily Independent
It’s only fitting that the theme of the upcoming Social Work Month in March is: “Social Workers Are Essential.” At Hospice of the Valley, about 100 medical social workers assist patients, families and caregivers with sensitive end-of-life conversations and advance care planning; link them to social and community resources they didn’t know even existed; and provide emotional support at a most challenging time.… Social worker Pam Ruzi serves medically fragile children with life-limiting illnesses and witnesses the heartbreak of parents who often feel helpless. “I try to really listen and hear their needs so I can provide the best support possible.”

Algeria Wilson is the director of public policy for NASW-MI:
Phone calls, questionnaires used to treat inmate depression during pandemic
Spartan News Room
Prison social workers have always had challenging jobs, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now with tough rules and regulations aimed at keeping staff and inmates healthy, prison social workers have become imperative for monitoring the mental health of isolated inmates, according to Algeria Wilson, the director of public policy of the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Sam Hickman is executive director of NASW-WV; Jennifer Wells is president of NASW-WV:
[Podcast] Ep. 29 – Social Workers Jennifer Wells and Sam Hickman (2 March 2021)
COVID in Appalachia with Chris White
In today’s episode, Kim fills in for Chris to jumpstart Social Work month, which is celebrated annually during the month of March, and this year’s theme is Social Workers are Essential. Our guests today are Sam Hickman, CEO of the National Association of Social Workers WV Chapter and Jennifer Wells, President of the NASW-WV Board and senior organizer with Community Change Action, a national organization fighting for the freedom of low-income, and low-income people of color, to thrive.

Wendy Barth is a member:
[Video] Boise marriage counselor says more people dating online due to pandemic
Idaho News
“I do think it makes sense that people are going more online to find a long-term relationship or hookups or all of those things during the pandemic, probably more than they normally would,” Wendy Barth, a licensed clinical social worker said. Barth said even before the pandemic, online dating was becoming more prevalent in the couples she works with.

Poppy Connor-Crouch and Paula Marcus-Platz are members:
Maine volunteers ready for a crisis
CentralMaine.com
Poppy Connor-Crouch and Paula Marcus-Platz know what it’s like to talk with people who are stressed. As licensed clinical social workers, they spent their careers helping people cope. Now they’re doing the same thing for free. Connor-Crouch and Marcus-Platz volunteer to staff the Maine FrontLine WarmLine, a confidential help line for stressed out frontline workers, first responders, and health care workers.

Albany Co. to Open First Mental Health Court
Spectrum News
“Hey, there may be an issue here, get them linked up to a clinical social worker to make a determination. Get the parties together including the DA, the defence counsel, and the judge, and try to offer this individual an alternative. We have a lot to be proud of that we’ve moved for those discussions from whether or not an individual knows the proceedings, to let’s get them the help that they need,” said Deputy Albany County Executive Dan Lynch.

Erin Brandel Dykhuizen is a member:
Your thoughts are lying to you (And so are mine!)
Community Reporter
Right now, it feels like the pandemic will never end, my kids will be trapped in the house with me forever, and my husband and I will never have a date night ever again. Luckily, what I have learned in my years of training as a psychotherapist sometimes has some application to my own life. One tool that can be helpful in this kind of situation is thought diffusion. Thought diffusion is a way for us to get some distance from our thoughts, so that when they are not helpful we don’t keep buying into them.

Luanne Harms is a member:
SENIOR SOURCE: Healthy aging vs. Alzheimer’s and dementia — how to know the difference
CBS19 (Tyler, TX)
“Normal aging, as we know, by the age of 30, we start seeing signs of normal aging. You know, our skin, possibly bones having bone issues as we age,” says Luanne Harms, LCSW, Director of Education with the Alzheimer’s Alliance of Smith County. “So normal aging, you know, people shouldn’t be concerned just because they can’t remember what they did with their keys. However, if you don’t know what your keys are for, that would be something that would be a concern.”

Erin Nielsen is a member:
Colorado’s “last responders” are exhausted after a year of coronavirus goodbyes
The Colorado Sun
Many caregivers are also struggling with the broad and unequal reach of coronavirus. Erin Nielsen was struck by the number of Black and Latino patients she was seeing at the University of Colorado Hospital, and many patients who did not speak English as a first language. It was not surprising — the health care system has long struggled to serve the poor and people of color. In Colorado and nationwide, Black and Latino people have been affected by the coronavirus in disproportionate numbers.

Anne Marie Olsen-Hayward is a member:

Taking A Toll: Elderly Mental Health
New Hampshire Public Radio
Nearly a year into New Hampshire’s COVID-19 emergency, stress is a constant presence in the lives of our residents, on our social systems, and in our communities.… For the final show in our three-part series about the mental health impacts of the past year, called Taking A Toll, we talk about older adults. With many facing technological barriers and cognitive issues, elderly people are struggling with isolation and depression. We discuss solutions and resources to help.

Jennifer Kelman is a member:
Kids are hitting a pandemic wall
abc11.com
Looking at the frustrations that kids are experiencing in terms of loss, the notion of kids hitting a wall has become a manifestation of the grieving process, according to Jennifer Kelman, a clinical social worker and family therapist with a private practice in Boca Raton, Florida.