We Are Essential. Spread the Word.
by Alyssa Lotmore, LMSW
Social workers are essential. The events of 2020, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the growing racial unrest, showed the importance of the profession...a crisis-ready workforce trained to help people find resources, navigate services, de-escalate conflict, and advocate, all while showing compassion and empathy. Our work is critical, and through my time as a social worker, I began to adopt the idea that the public is the client - to work toward reaching individuals who might never have considered seeing or using a social worker, to be active in elevating our profession by letting the world know who we are and what we do.
“Change” is a word we hear often in the field of social work. As social workers, we function as agents of change in society. We strive to make change occur at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. We work together with individuals, families, communities, and society at large to make change happen. As social workers, we may envision our ideal progression for that change, but where and how do we start?
There are many current social issues that need to be addressed. Health disparities, bullying, homelessness, elder care, and substance use are just a few. As social workers, we are not only very familiar with these areas but are also well prepared to foster and frame a meaningful dialogue on how to address these social issues with the general public. Media outlets and public platforms offer social workers an excellent medium to discuss social matters we are passionate about and suggest strategies on how to address them. Through these venues, we can reach vast audiences to offer information, resources, empathy, and hope.
At times, we may wonder if we have the appropriate expertise or if we are qualified to raise awareness about social issues in a public manner. Interestingly, expertise has a way of creeping up on you. Through our practice, supervision, and continuing education, we acquire an array of knowledge and mastery that can facilitate individual, community, and social change. As social workers, we routinely engage with individuals, families, groups, and communities. We help meet emergency needs and address crises and problems in human relationships; network and connect others to services and resources; and advocate for human rights, equality, and social justice. We engage in social and political action to impact social policy and economic development. As change agents, we have the appropriate knowledge and expertise. It is now a matter of selecting the right tools to share the information in an engaging, clear, and concise manner with the public.
We can choose from a number of tools to share our expertise. These include writing articles and op-eds, giving talks and demonstrations, developing blogs or websites, participating in conference panels, volunteering our services to show our expertise, contacting local mainstream media sources (especially if the social issue is a current “hot topic”), and creating our own podcasts. As we gain more comfort speaking publicly or writing about these critical issues, we can develop a type of “communicator’s toolbox” that helps us communicate more effectively with the public.
How, then, do we differentiate ourselves from the many others who are also trying to raise awareness and, sometimes, funds in support of a given cause? How do we interest people in a social issue they may not be familiar with or think does not relate to them? Finding a connection through a compelling story could be a start. Linking a personal story and a face to a statistic and highlighting how a given social issue has a ripple effect that extends beyond one individual or population can help build a connection with the larger audience. These can also help increase awareness of the social issue. Through connection and awareness, a higher level of engagement can be reached, creating a stronger movement toward social change.
Social workers are essential. But social workers can also be media savvy and continue to elevate our profession by sharing our expertise. We must use appropriate media tools to inform the public, engage new community groups in problem solving, and advance new knowledge on current pressing social issues and on the resources, services, and supports to address them. Through these venues, we can contribute to a better understanding of who we are as social workers and what we do as agents of change in society.
Alyssa Lotmore is employed at the University at Albany’s School of Social Welfare. In addition to her main role working as Assistant to the Dean for Communications and Engagement, she has been co-hosting The Social Workers Radio Talk Show since 2013. Alyssa created the course Media Savvy Social Work, which allows students hands-on practice in using the medium of radio for advocacy. She has given multiple presentations on the topic, including at the NASW national conference in Washington, DC.