Devorah Weiss. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.

Cheers to the New York Times for this article on Devorah Weiss, a social work liason for Connect to Care, an initiative of the UJA-Federation of New York.

Weiss rides a minivan around Staten Island. Her job is so busy she works from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and gets by on just five hours of sleep.

Many of her clients are middle class and upper middle class Jewish New Yorkers who have fallen on hard economic times. Often Weiss makes home visits to people who would have never thought of coming to a charitable organization for help.

“She’s embarrassed, because of her high recognition, to come to my office,” Weiss said of a client who is the wife of a man who lost his successful business.

To learn more about how social workers help people from all walks of life, click here to visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Web site.