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From January 2002 NASW NEWS Needs Compete, Not Our Mandates
The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 touched the hearts of people around the world. Many felt ineffective and frustrated and wanted to help. One way to make a difference was to give a financial contribution to the many traditional or newly established funds for disaster relief. While extraordinary, this tremendous outpouring of generosity, estimated at over a billion dollars, has not been without unintended consequences. Such focused giving has caused great concern for other "every day" charities. An editorial in The Washington Post on Oct. 12 stated, ". . . the strength of charities that regularly provide essential help in this region and everywhere else must not fall victim to diversion of support for Sept. 11 relief. . . . Wherever possible, Americans should consider their contributions for disaster relief as extra efforts — remembering that the needs of the hungry and homeless before Sept. 11 have not disappeared." My hometown newspaper runs a holiday fundraising campaign every year called "People to People." The monies collected are used to help needy families during the holidays. Each year, the community struggles to reach its modest goal of $40-50,000. This same newspaper established a Sept. 11 disaster relief fund. In only eight weeks, that fund raised $65,000, far exceeding past holiday fund efforts. The question remains, will the community still be able to raise the money for helping the needy families during the holidays? Areas of competing needs can also be seen in many aspects of our professional work. The unemployment rate is higher than it's been for years. Coupled with the downturn of the economy, this will increase social work caseloads in numerous areas of practice. In this time of increasing need for social services, many agencies around the country are reporting that they may have to decrease services or reduce social work staffing because of lack of funding. Marginalized agencies are at particular risk, and social work colleagues themselves may be out of work because of agency closings. American society has been overwhelmed by the violence perpetrated on Sept. 11. Yet, there is no safety for many American children on a daily basis. Many children live with domestic violence, school violence and community violence. We have seen great attention paid to identifying persons at risk for post-traumatic stress reactions following Sept. 11. We are able to clinically document circles of vulnerability and identify people who may be at an increased risk for emotional problems because of their physical or emotional proximity to the terrorist attacks. What we can't do is document effects on those persons for whom the terrorist attacks were an overlay of violence on that which already permeates their lives. And how do we determine the needs of and provide increased services for the most vulnerable populations, for whom consequences may not be as dramatic initially, but will be profound over the long term? I was moved recently to read a copy of a creative workbook for children developed by social worker Alisa Salloum, who is employed at Children's Bureau in New Orleans. Called "Reactions: A Workbook to Help Young People Who Are Experiencing Trauma and Grief," it is dedicated to all the young people in New Orleans who have lost someone to violence. The children with whom Alisa works through the bureau's Grief, Trauma and Violence Prevention Center are a vulnerable population. Their program and their well-being should not be jeopardized by yet another violent act, no matter how momentous. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, we need traditional social work counseling and crisis intervention, but we also need to establish and maintain critical social systems. We need financial assistance for the survivors of the terrorist attacks, but we also need assistance for all of the airline and service industry workers who have lost their jobs. We need federal mental health parity legislation, and we need more school social workers. The list could go on and on. These needs may be competing, but the social work mandates are compatible. Social workers have never been more needed. I heard someone say recently, "We are living in times when social workers can be their best." The challenges are great; the social work profession will meet them. To comment to Elizabeth J. Clark: NewsColumn@naswdc.org Back to NASW NEWS Contents
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By Elizabeth J.
Clark, Ph.D., ACSW