NASW is a proud supporter of Give An Hour, an organization devoted to developing a national network of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society. Give An Hour focuses on U.S. troops and their loved ones who are currently being affect by the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Give an Hour asks mental health professionals, including social workers, to literally donate an hour of their time each week to provide free mental health services to military personnel and their families. For more information on Give An Hour, or to volunteer, please visit www.giveanhour.org.

NASW wants to spread the word about an important and EASY way for you to help Give an Hour this month. The organization has entered an online grant contest sponsored by Pepsi. In order to win the grant, they just need to be a top vote-getter in their category. Give An Hour is asking supporters to vote for their organization every day from now through the end of June.

Here is the link to Give an Hour’s idea: http://www.refresheverything.com/mentalhealthforvets.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Hoffler at ehoffler@naswdc.org.

National Association of Social Workers Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

NASW Encourages Mental Health Providers to Give an Hour to Serve Veterans

NASW joins the nation in honoring the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through a national day of service. In response to the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) conflicts, NASW encourages all licensed mental health providers to virtually sign up to volunteer their services through Give An Hour. The organization’s mission is to develop a national network of volunteers with the correct education and experience to meet the mental health needs of the troops and families affected by these engagements. The entire network of volunteers consists of social workers as well as all disciplines within the mental health community who provide treatment for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, sexual health and intimacy concerns, and loss and grieving.

The National Association of Social Workers encourages all licensed mental health providers with the expertise and available time commitment to serve our veterans and their loved ones, who may otherwise silently suffer from mental health challenges. Visit www.giveanhour.org on this important day of service and sign up to volunteer your time.

The August issue of Health & Social Work (Vol. 34, No. 3) covers a wide range of topics important to social work and social workers, with the “Viewpoint” feature article by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1) on posttraumatic stress disorder. Below is a sampling of what’s inside the issue. Download the table of contents of the August Health & Social Work Journal here.

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Government Initiatives to Relieve It
Carol Shea-Porter
The stressors inherent in military service in the current Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, compounded by multiple tours of duty and shrinking times between deployments, have created a mental health crisis among our military men and women—one that can be just as profound for veterans as it can be for active-duty troops. This article by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter(NH-1), member of the House Armed Services Committee, addresses what the armed services and U.S. government are doing to address this crisis—in particular the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder—and looks ahead to what more needs to be done.

• Parent Mentoring and Child Anticipatory Guidance with Latino and African American Families
Michaela L. Z. Farber
Poor child health and developmental outcomes are linked to scarcity of economic resources, barriers to health service delivery, and inadequate parenting. A preventive two-year parent mentoring project, theoretically anchored in the transactional model of child development, resulted in statistically-significant positive changes in parent and child outcomes for families receiving well-baby care at an urban primary health care center. In addition to numerous practical benefits, the intervention had implications for collaborative multidisciplinary practice.

• Sexuality and Life-Threatening Illness: Implications for Social Work and Palliative Care
John G. Cagle and Sage Bolte
Addressing sexuality with terminally ill patients and their families is frequently a social worker’s responsibility, yet little direction exists regarding how to approach this difficult subject in the context of palliative care. On the basis of a critical analysis of the literature on sexuality and terminal illness, this article addresses systemic barriers to the expression of sexuality in palliative care settings and provides numerous practical recommendations for social workers serving clients in such settings.

The United States has been at war for more than eight years, with Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan beginning in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. During this time, more than 1.5 million troops have been deployed to serve in these wars.

Social workers continue to play an important role in the lives of veterans both during and after wartime. This fact sheet highlights some of the key considerations and concerns regarding social work services and veterans’ issues

The organization provides mental health services separate from the military establishment.

By Heidi Sfiligoj, NASW News Staff

NASW has endorsed Give an Hour, a national nonprofit grassroots organization with the goal of creating a national network of licensed mental health professionals who can offer free mental health services to military personnel and their families.

NASW first announced its endorsement of Give an Hour in the July issue of the NASW News, but joined the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Association of Pastoral Counselors at the Reserve Officers Association on Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C., to show support for the effort. The event took place prior to Veterans Day as a way to honor the service of the nation’s military members and their families.

“NASW is proud to endorse the Give an Hour program and is committed to increasing the number of social workers who volunteer to help mitigate the impact of war on our nation’s families and communities,” said NASW Executive Director Elizabeth J. Clark.

Mental health professionals who join the Give an Hour network set aside one hour of their time every week to provide the services for free.

“Need has outpaced resources, which is why Give an Hour is so important,” said Clark. “It allows licensed mental health professionals from multiple disciplines to be a part of a community service movement that can close the gaps public funding cannot. We are honored to work side-by-side with our allies in the fields of psychology, psychiatry and pastoral counseling to serve those who served us all with such dignity and courage.” (more…)

Source: Google News

Veterans Seek Financial Help
KFDA - Amarillo, TX
… which we can help other veterans that do not meet the other benefit packages as a veteran,” said Maxine Brandon, VA Hospital’s Social Work Executive. …

Study: Need for standardizing creds
Iowa City Press Citizen - Iowa City, IA
A University of Iowa survey of 1071 nursing homes shows that only half of nursing home social workers have a degree in social work while 20 percent do not …

Orange County workers get pink slips
Los Angeles Times - CA
Among those let go were social workers assigned to child and elder abuse cases and eligibility technicians who process claims for public assistance, …

Calls for help surge: Social workers see dramatic numbers, new faces
St. Cloud Times - St. Cloud, MN
By Kirsti Marohn • kmarohn@stcloudtimes.com • January 6, 2009 Winter is always a peak season for county social workers helping people in dire financial …

News Source: Google News

Breast Cancer Program Receives Grant
Garden City News - NY, USA
There Adelphi’s bilingual social workers, Angela Papalia, LMSW, and Lois Goetz, LMSW, offer social work services for women diagnosed with breast cancer, …

Study: Teen’s self-perception more important than popularity
KSL-TV - Salt Lake City,UT,USA
Licensed clinical social worker Andra Devaiah said, “That really inhibits their confidence, their ability to make friends, to go into new situations and to …

Yes I admit it ! I love the Munchmobile!
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Newark,NJ,USA
by Maureen P. Tillman, LCSW I look forward to it every summer and was thrilled to escort some esteemed World War II Veterans onto the famous van during the …

Taming of the potty mouth
SheKnows.com - Scottsdale,AZ,USA
Tracye A. Polson, MSW, LCSW-C, executive director of the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children, an organization that affiliated with …

Stints abroad put man on a new career path
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - MO, United States
“When I returned to Cape Girardeau, I changed my major to social work. I’m interested in micro-social work, working one on one with young people who are …

Child care professionals tackle issues
Cay Compass - Grand Cayman,Cayman Islands
It comprised two workshops, The Practice of Social Work in the Cayman Islands: Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward; and Reaching Boys and Young Men. …

High gas and food prices triple food shelf demand in Superior
BusinessNorth.com - Duluth,MN,USA
Army Social Worker Dawn Hastings says they usually get 10 to 15 families coming in a day. Now it’s three times that number. She says high gas prices make …

NASW is pleased to endorse Give an Hour, a nonprofit organization that gives free mental health services to U.S. military personnel and families. Give an Hour is working to develop a national network of volunteers for addressing the psychological symptoms directly related to deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Give an Hour also offers services to parents, siblings, and unmarried partners who are not entitled to receive mental health benefits through the military.

You can help by donating an hour of your services to a soldier or family member that the Department of Defense has identified as needing mental health services. After receiving professional services, participants are matched with community organizations that are in need of volunteers. Participants benefit in two ways, by having their psychological needs addressed and helping out in their own communities.

Please visit www.giveanhour.org/ for more information about donating your time to this important cause.