Social Workers Speak on the Economy

May 8, 2009

Read what social workers have to say – Click here to view the PDF.

Every day in their work with individuals, families and communities, social workers see first-hand the devastating costs and consequences of poverty and unemployment. Joblessness and economic insecurity can lead to more incidences of mental illness, family violence, suicide, substance abuse and crime.

Social workers are seeing increasing effects of the current economic crisis in their work. Economic insecurity presents a double-edged sword for social workers. While they work to provide essential community services such as counseling, crisis intervention and resource referrals to families in need, social workers are also directly affected by growing job losses, reduced budgets and low salaries.

This factsheet highlights some of the key concerns that social workers have about the current state of the economy, as well as how social workers are getting involved to help.

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