World Social Work Day - 19th March 2024
Today, March 19th, is Work Social Work Day. Half of the therapists working here with us are social workers with experience and expertise in working with mental health issues. I find there are a lot of myths about what social workers do, and often there is a caricature of social workers taking children from families. According to the Wold Federation of Social Workers,
"Social work is a game changer. Social workers work in communities with people finding positive ways forward in the challenges they face in their lives. They help people build the kind of environments in which they want to live, through co-determination, co-production and social responsibility. Economic health cannot be achieved without social health." (https://www.ifsw.org/)
I really love this definition to be honest, and being reminded that social workers work in such a broad range of lifetimes, from pre-pregnancy to end of life, and a diverse spectrum of spaces from mental health, homelessness and housing, families, children and adolescents, schools, domestic violence, and government and policy making to name a few.
This year’s theme is ‘Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change’, which has its roots in the global agenda, and “emphasises the need for social workers to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature.” We are reminded of the transformative role social workers play in driving positive change and fostering communities that thrive on mutual respect and sustainability.
For more information on the history of World Social Work Day, please see here.
