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Social Work Month theme “All People Matter” continues throughout 2014


1,000 Experts Campaign connects top social workers with media, public

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) will close its official celebration of National Social Work Month on March 31 but social workers will continue to promote the Social Work Month theme “All People Matter” for the rest of the year.

Throughout 2014 social workers will be involved in key consumer and social initiatives that affect American families and communities. These initiatives include improving the health and wellness of the nation’s citizens, reducing the disastrous effects of poverty, protecting voting rights, and bolstering support services for our nation’s veterans and their families.

There are more than 600,000 social workers in the United States and the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts social work will be one of the fastest growing professions in the nation between 2012 and 2022. Social workers work in all areas of society, including hospitals and mental health care facilities, community organizations, government and politics, and schools.

In order to further educate the public about the vital role, social workers play NASW this month launched a 1,000 Experts Campaign and online search tool. Some of the nation’s top social work researchers, authors, community leaders, educators, clinicians and elected officials are a part of the 1,000 Experts Campaign.

These social workers will be available to talk to the media and the public about what social workers do and how they are helping ensure access and well-being for millions of people. Experts are ready to comment on a variety of important issues of the day, including behavioral healthadoption and foster carepoverty and unemploymentimmigrationLGBT rightscancer and chronic illnesspublic healthaddictionsagingthe correctional systembereavement, loss and grief, and veterans.

Some of NASW’s featured experts include:

  • Professor Terry Hokenstad Jr., Ph.D., ACSW, a noted aging researcher and expert on the elderly who teaches at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
  • Julie Hanks, MSW, LCSW, a Utah-based social worker and relationship expert who has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times and on television.
  • Megan Berthold, Ph.D., LCSW, a social work professor at the University of Connecticut who is one of the leading experts on how to help the victims of kidnapping and torture recover from such trauma.
  • Aracely Neeley, MSW, a relationships and grief recovery expert who has appeared on reality TV and provided on-air advice on Spanish-language Univision Channel 45 in Houston.
  • Caitlin Ryan, MSW, a San Francisco-based social worker who is director of the Family Acceptance Project, an organization aimed at helping reduce the health and mental health risks faced by LGBT youth.

For interviews, members of the media can email media@naswdc.org or call Greg Wright at 202.336.8324.

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The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 130,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.

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