Brewer has already recommended adding more investigators and training and overhauling the hot line for abuse complaints. She has also proposed increasing the CPS budget by $3.7 million.

Photo courtesy of Fox 5 in Phoenix, AZ.

Friends and associates of slain social worker Gabe Zimmerman held a six-mile hike on South Mountain near Phoenix, Ariz. in his memory, according to this Fox 5 article and video clip.

Gabe Zimmerman

Zimmerman, an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and a member of the National Association of Social Workers Arizona Chapter, was killed in a mass shooting a year ago that left the congresswoman injured. He was an avid outsdoorsman and his friends thought a hike was an ideal way to honor his memory.

“Gabe was really one of the best people I knew,” state Rep. Katie Hobbs said.

To read the National Association of Social Workers’ Jan. 10, 2011 press release concerning Zimmerman’s death click here. 

Dallyn offers counseling sessions for employees at Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers and workers at Catholic Healthcare West Urgent Care to help them learn forgiveness. She started the program after she noticed past hurts and disappointments sometimes left people bitter and angry.

How can employees help others heal if they are hurting inside, she asked? So far more than 100 workers have taken the voluntary, free program since it started in 2009.

“I got to thinking that if we can make happy employees, they can really provide better care to patients, and then they will be happy patients,” Dallyn said.

To learn more about how social workers help people improve mental health, visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Mind & Spirit Web page by clicking here.

Susan Hilema looks at a photo of Christina-Taylor Green. Photo courtesy of the Arizona Republic.

We got an email today from a reader who thanked the National Association of Social Workers for commemorating Gabe Zimmerman, MSW, the aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who was slain in the Tucson shootings in January.

But the emailer asked us not to forget another social worker involved in the tragedy. Retired social worker Susan Hileman is a friend and neighbor of the Green family and took their 9-year-old daughter Christina-Taylor to the shopping center to meet Rep. Giffords.

Hileman was shot while protecting Christina-Taylor, who died. Hileman is still recovering from her wounds. She describes her recovery and emotional pain in this Jan. 21 Arizona Republic article.

“I’m so sorry that I couldn’t bring her home,” Hileman said.

Ron Barber. Photo courtesy of KVOA TV.

Another Giffords aide who was injured was Ron Barber, who is a social worker too. He is mentioned in this Arizona Republic article about the tragedy. KVOA TV in Tucson on Jan. 14 also posted this article on Barber when he was released from the hospital.

“My healing process is well underway and so is the healing of this wonderful community we call home,” Barber said in a statement.

To read the National Association of Social Workers’ statement on the death of Gabe Zimmerman, click here.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend the January 12 memorial for Arizona shooting victims. At their left is Daniel Hernandez, a Congressional aide who helped save the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. To their right is Gifford's husband Mark Kelly and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Photo courtesy of the White House.

President Obama on Wednesday spoke at a memorial services for the victims of the Arizona shooting, including social worker and Congressional aide Gabe Zimmerman.

Zimmerman was an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who is still recovering from her injuries.

Gabe Zimmerman

“He died doing what he loved -— talking with people and seeing how he could help,” Obama said of Zimmerman.

To watch Obama’s speech at the White House Web site click here. Or you can read a transcript of his remarks by clicking here. The National Association of Social Workers also released a statement about Gabe Zimmerman that you can read by clicking here.

Jared Lee Loughner

How could Jared Lee Loughner’s parents miss the many signs he was capable of allegedly shooting and killing six people and injuring 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)?

National Association of Social Workers member Frederic Reamer, DSW, answered these questions in this column penned by Philadelphia Daily News columnist Jenice Armstrong.

Reamer, who is a professor in the graduate program at the Rhode Island College School of Social Work, said parents may be so dysfunctional they do not notice their offspring are suffering mentally.

“When the communication between the parents and the young adults is not constructive . . . so often parents are not the consistent influence that you would like to think,” Reamer said.

Social workers help clients cope with mental illness and emotional stress. To learn more, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Mind and Spirit Web page by clicking here.

Kyrsten Sinema. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org.

Social worker and Arizona Democratic State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema was quoted in a CNN article protesting a controversial new state law that bans ethnic studies classes that “promote resentment” of other racial groups. To read the full article and watch related video click here.

State Schools Superintendent Tom Horne said that the legislation was created to get schools to teach children to treat each other as individuals and not on the basis of their race.

However, UN human rights experts say the law discourages students from learning about their culture and that of others. And Sinema said ethnic courses do not divide students.

“The fact is very clear that these courses are open to all students.” she said. ”I think it is important for students to learn about their own cultural heritage and to have the opportunity to learn about our cultures and ethnicities that make up the diverse and wonderful state of Arizona.”

The ethnic studies law is the latest controversial legislation out of Arizona, which has also been under fire for a controversial immigration law that lets authorities stop suspected illegal immigrants and demand identification.

Q: Should Arizona’s ethnic studies law be overturned?

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Debra Rock talks to clients. Photo courtesy of the Daily Courier.

Cheers to the Daily Courier in Prescott, Ariz. for their article on National Association of Social Workers member Debra Rock, LCSW.

Rock teaches clients that changing thought patterns is an important way to lead a happier life. “It really is about breaking old habits and old thinking,” she said. “And opening ourselves up to positive psychology.”

Rock offered some tips on how to have a happy, positive attitude toward life, including keeping a daily journal listing five things you are grateful for. To read more of Debra’s tips click here to read the full article. 

To learn more about how social workers help people overcome life’s challenges, visit the NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Mind and Spirit Web pages by clicking here.

The article featured National Association of Social Workers member Colleen Fisher, MSW. Fisher was named the social worker of the year for the Phoenix area for 2010 and juggles a busy schedule, husband, teenagers, and pet dogs.

So keeping her home clear of clutter has not been a top priority. “My house and car can be a mess,” she said. “I miss appointments at times and feel that things are getting out of my grasp.”

Charlotte Steill  of Simply Put Organizing came in to help Fisher get her house in order. To read the tips Steill gave Fisher click here.