Wanda Rohl. Photo courtesy of mywebtimes.com.

Restaurant manager and part-time DJ Wanda Rohl was injured in a 2003 ATV accident and became a paraplegic.

Without the help of a hospital social worker Rohl said her family would have gone hungry and become homeless. The social worker helped her apply for Social Security benefits, Medicaid, Meals on Wheels and other services Rohl needed because she could not work.

According to this column in the Illinois Rockford Register Star, government assistance also allowed Rohl to earn a masters degree in social work from Aurora University. She is now a licensed social worker and certified alcohol and drug counselor.

Rohl is now running for Congress against Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger in Illinois’ very conservative and Republican 16th Congressional District.

Rohl said it is important Congress not cut social safety net programs that enabled her to get back on her feet and succeed after the devastating accident.

“I have spent the last nine years of my life navigating the social safety net for myself,” Rohl said. “Now, as I no longer rely on any of these programs, I navigate it with others. I am living proof that they work and that we are all just one illness, or one accident, away from a very uncertain future and poverty.”

To learn more about Rohl visit her campaign website by clicking here.

Social workers are active in politics and community organizing. To learn more about social workers in Congress visit the Congressional Social Work Caucus website by clicking here.