Image from: National Association of Social Work, https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Month/Logos-Infographics
As I sit at home social distancing myself from the rest of society, I am hopeful things will get better and we will eventually return to the lives we’ve once known. There are great unknowns at the moment. We are unsure when we can start going back to school, when we can start going back to work, and when we can start just being our regular selves again.
But with these unknowns, I do feel a bit better knowing that I am a social worker and that I am surrounded by social workers. As Professor Nicole Vazquez stated numerous times, “There’s no one I rather go through this with than with social workers.” And I share this sentiment wholeheartedly. As social workers, we give and share love, care, and support. We value and respect one another, and give worth to each fellow human being. We lend others a helping hand, and during this crisis, a virtual helping hand. We look for solutions to complex problems. We continue to see the good in others and in society.
We need to acknowledge and appreciate ourselves for being social workers. Even when life seems its bleakest and most dire, we, as social workers, willingly rise up and take on the challenge. We must remind ourselves that we chose this profession because we have the strengths, attributes, talents, capabilities, and capacities to impact change, to advocate for social justice and equity, or just simply, to place a smile on someone else’s face because maybe that’s all they needed at that moment.
In closing, I want to wish all of you, Happy Social Work Month.
Thank you for reading.
Paul Vu is a current faculty memeber of the CSUDH Social Work Deparment. He has a Master's degree in Social work and a Master's degree in Public Policy