Maria Randall. Photo courtesy of Memphis Daily News.

Cheers to the Daily News in Memphis, TN for this profile of National Association of Social Workers member Maria Randall, who says passion is the overarching theme of her life.

Randall is social services director at Hope House, a daycare center for children whose parents or guardians are HIV positive or who have died from AIDS related illnesses.

A third of the mothers of children in this program contracted HIV through a sexual assault and some of the children have seen people  shot to death.

“These children have faced more in their two and three years than I’ve faced in my 52 years,” Randall said. “So, what do we do? We love them. That’s what they need — to be nurtured.”

To learn more about how social workers help young people overcome life’s hurdles visit NASW’s “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Website by clicking here. “Help Starts Here” also has articles on how social workers assist people living with HIV/AIDS. To read those articles click here.

Kathy Kastan bared her surgical scar in a magazine ad to make women aware of heart disease. Photo courtesy of the The Commercial Appeal.

Tennessee social worker Kathy Kastan will receive a Red Dress Award from Woman’s Day Magazine on Feb. 10 in New York to honor her courageous work in fighting heart disease.

Kastan is also the first patient advocate to receive the award, which commemorates American Heart Month by spotlighting four women who have made big contributions toward fighting heart disease. 

“More women die of heart disease than anything else and yet when people think of heart disease they think balding, overweight man,” she said. 

Kastan, 50, underwent heart bypass surgery in 2002 and did an arresting photo advertisement showing her surgical scar to make more women aware of the disease. To read the full Memphis Commercial Appeal article about Kastan click here.

And to learn more about how social workers help people maintain health and navigate the nation’s health care and nursing home system visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Health & Wellness Web page by clicking here and Seniors & Aging page by clicking here.