Social Work in the Public Eye
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| Luis Zayas |
In an NPR “Talk of the Nation” segment called “Why Are Young
Latinas at Risk?” NASW member Luis Zayas talks about the high rate of suicide
and depression among high school-aged Latina females in the United States.
The show, hosted by Lynn Neary, highlights Latina girls as one
of the fastest-growing groups in the country. According to the segment,
research has uncovered certain trends in this group, showing that young
Hispanic women are the most likely to drop out of school, use drugs, and
attempt suicide (one out of six).
“The Latinas have overall the highest rate of (suicide)
attempts of any group, whether it's male or female,” said Zayas, who was
professor of social work and psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis
at the time of the interview. (He has since been appointed dean of the School
of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin.)
Discussing the root of the issue, the show emphasizes the
pressures young Hispanic women face from their families to take care of the
home and act as surrogate mothers to younger siblings. Many are not encouraged
to acquire a higher education. Adulthood is often considered synonymous with
becoming a parent in the Hispanic community, and other studies claim that young
Latinas also have the highest teen birthrate.
Part of the young girls’ problems stem from enduring poverty,
social isolation and cultural clashes with their parents, the segment points
out.
“ …If you think of the issues of culture and immigration and
acculturation as one stream coming together with issues of a family's
functioning that's associated with this immigration process and acculturation
process, and then we think about young women themselves: What are the
adolescent developmental processes that young women go through? When you bring these
together, we have among Latinas, a particular set of circumstances that may be
what explains some of the high rates of suicide attempts among them,” Zayas
says.
Therapy, he says — although seen as taboo by older Hispanic
generations who reject the idea of discussing problems outside of family and
the home — is much more welcomed by the younger generation and can be an option
for young Latinas to get help.
“Among the younger group, there's much more willingness to
talk to a counselor at school, a social worker at school, a psychologist at a
clinic, and talk openly,” Zayas says. “That's been our experience … the girls
that we are studying are girls who have attempted suicide and who we find in
mental health clinics, and they are very open with their therapists.”
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| Caitlin Ryan |
NASW member Caitlin Ryan, director of the Family Acceptance
Project, has received the 2012 Mary Smith Arnold Anti-Oppression Award from the
Counselors of Social Justice-American Counseling Association, according to an
article on Asian Journal.com. The award recognizes professional counselors and
counselor educators who have challenged and fought against the oppression they
have witnessed in their schools or communities. The Family Acceptance Project
is affiliated with San Francisco State University and works to minimize and
prevent major health risks for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths.
These risks can include suicide, homelessness, HIV and
substance abuse, and can come about when young people feel like they are not
understood or accepted by their families. The award recognizes Ryan’s
groundbreaking research, the article says, along with her family intervention
work linking family acceptance and the rejection of LGBT youth with
health-related risk and wellness.
“I nominated Dr. Ryan for the Counselors for Social Justice
Mary Smith Arnold Anti-Oppression award because I can think of no other
researcher/clinician who does such powerful work at the intersection of
multiple oppressions: heterosexism, sexism, racism, religious differences, and
across so many diverse populations,” says Stuart Chen-Heyes, associate
professor and program coordinator, counselor education/school counseling at
Lehman College of the City University of New York. He was one of the founders
of the Council of Social Justice, as was Arnold.
“From her early work to inform quality health care and
counseling for LGBT youth to her decade-long work with the Family Acceptance
Project, Dr. Ryan exemplifies the spirit of Dr. Mary Smith Arnold,” Chen-Heyes
says. “As a former student of Dr. Arnold’s myself, her message has informed my
work and the work of so many others: We all need to be allies to challenge
multiple oppressions. Dr. Ryan’s work is a shining example of the power of
rigorous research and evidence-based interventions to challenge oppression in
its many forms and complexities.”
Ryan, along with a team of staff and interns, is working
toward developing the first evidence-based family model of wellness, prevention
and care to strengthen families and promote positive development and healthy
futures for LGBT children and youth, the article says. Once developed, FAP will
introduce the model across the U.S. and to groups that FAP works with in other
countries.
The project offers free services to families with LGBT youth
in the San Francisco Bay area to provide resources, counseling, guidance and
advice. For more information, visit familyproject.sfsu.edu/home.
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| Aime Eipers |
In the MTV documentary series “True Life,” the reality show
follows a variety of young adults in specific situations, including those who
suffer from the consequences of misdirected allegations.
For the “True Life” segment “I’m a Sex Offender,” MTV sought
out NASW member Aime Eipers to provide social work services to Justin (last
name withheld), a 22-year-old Illinois resident. At 18 years of age, Justin had
a consensual sexual relationship with his then-15-year-old girlfriend, who
pressed charges against Justin after he broke up with her.
The results of his ex-girlfriend’s actions have deemed Justin
a convicted sex offender on a misdemeanor charge, and he is now fighting with
Illinois lawmakers to clear his case and remove his name from the state’s sex
offender list.
“I really enjoyed my experience being on ‘True Life,’” Eipers
said. “I really like that it shows that a social worker can hear the
difficulties a client like Justin is going through and still find a way to give
them hope and have them leaving with a positive outlook.”
MTV producers were positive about the impact of having a
social work session within the episode, Eipers said.
“I was able to give my perspective on this type of situation
and was allowed complete discretion over how the session would proceed,” she
said. “I believe that my role as a social worker was portrayed in a very good
way and that viewers could easily gather how a social worker can provide
essential tools to any client they may encounter.”
Justin is now a student at North Illinois University, and
says in the segment that his peers and fellow classmates have been very
supportive of his situation.
From June 2012 NASW News. © 2012 National
Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News
articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of
copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies
made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising,
promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.
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