Social workers have enhanced the well-being of our nation for decades. They’ve advocated for better rights and benefits that have shaped our society today, including the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Rights Movement, workers’ rights, better mental health care, unemployment benefits, social security, and more.
Members of the BronxWorks Social Work Committee.
This March, the BronxWorks Social Work Committee hosted their annual Social Workers Appreciation event at the Carolyn McLaughlin Community Center, and this year’s theme was “Social Workers are Superheroes”! Almost 40 social workers, social work interns, and those working to obtain their social work degree were in attendance, all from a variety of BronxWorks programs. Attendees enjoyed a hot breakfast, a fun ice-breaker game, and time to network with their peers.
BronxWorks holds this event every year during Social Work Appreciation Month to show gratitude toward our social workers and the incredible dedication they bring to their work. We truly appreciate social workers for working to uplift the lives of those in need.
We spoke to a few social workers in attendance and asked them what a social worker’s job is:
James Franklin, Director of Social Services at the Pyramid
“I think a social worker’s job is to help people get to where they want to be. That’s important to me, especially working in adult homeless services, just because a lot of the people we work with haven’t had the opportunities most people have, so it’s nice to help them get to where they want to be.”
Jamal White, Social Worker at The Brook
“Social work is important because what we do is to help impact the community, and what we do is to help bring balance, help bring a semblance of peace and forwardness with every single group that we work with. It doesn’t matter what community it is, we are here to support and help build up the community, help bring up people who are in situations that may not be the most advantageous, but still want to be able to help work and bring them up so we can have solidarity with one another.“
Brian McCullough, Program Director at Bronx Point
“To me, being a social worker means we get to radically change the trajectory of our neighbors’ lives. And that is an amazing privilege for us.”
Shauna Barry, Director of Clinical Learning and Development
“I think it’s important to have social workers at BronxWorks because our goal is to hold and create space for people. When they show up in any situation, any position, any feelings, our goal and our skillset is to hold space for people to be themselves. I think that’s the most important thing, so I really appreciate that about the social workers at the agency.”
Wendy Weil, Director of Clinical Supervision – Family Residences
The job of a social worker is to empower somebody to be their best self, taking into account all their mental health, physical health, socio-economic status, any challenges that they face…so we work with them to bring out the best in them, by helping them to bring out the best in themselves.
March is National Social Work Month!
Social workers have enhanced the well-being of our nation for decades. They’ve advocated for better rights and benefits that have shaped our society today, including the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Rights Movement, workers’ rights, better mental health care, unemployment benefits, social security, and more.
Members of the BronxWorks Social Work Committee.
This March, the BronxWorks Social Work Committee hosted their annual Social Workers Appreciation event at the Carolyn McLaughlin Community Center, and this year’s theme was “Social Workers are Superheroes”! Almost 40 social workers, social work interns, and those working to obtain their social work degree were in attendance, all from a variety of BronxWorks programs. Attendees enjoyed a hot breakfast, a fun ice-breaker game, and time to network with their peers.
BronxWorks holds this event every year during Social Work Appreciation Month to show gratitude toward our social workers and the incredible dedication they bring to their work. We truly appreciate social workers for working to uplift the lives of those in need.
We spoke to a few social workers in attendance and asked them what a social worker’s job is:
James Franklin, Director of Social Services at the Pyramid
“I think a social worker’s job is to help people get to where they want to be. That’s important to me, especially working in adult homeless services, just because a lot of the people we work with haven’t had the opportunities most people have, so it’s nice to help them get to where they want to be.”
Jamal White, Social Worker at The Brook
“Social work is important because what we do is to help impact the community, and what we do is to help bring balance, help bring a semblance of peace and forwardness with every single group that we work with. It doesn’t matter what community it is, we are here to support and help build up the community, help bring up people who are in situations that may not be the most advantageous, but still want to be able to help work and bring them up so we can have solidarity with one another.“
Brian McCullough, Program Director at Bronx Point
“To me, being a social worker means we get to radically change the trajectory of our neighbors’ lives. And that is an amazing privilege for us.”
Shauna Barry, Director of Clinical Learning and Development
“I think it’s important to have social workers at BronxWorks because our goal is to hold and create space for people. When they show up in any situation, any position, any feelings, our goal and our skillset is to hold space for people to be themselves. I think that’s the most important thing, so I really appreciate that about the social workers at the agency.”
Wendy Weil, Director of Clinical Supervision – Family Residences
The job of a social worker is to empower somebody to be their best self, taking into account all their mental health, physical health, socio-economic status, any challenges that they face…so we work with them to bring out the best in them, by helping them to bring out the best in themselves.
