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Webinar Focuses on Environmental Impacts on Individuals, Communities

By Laetitia Clayton

Social worker Tara D. Wallace says there should not be different levels of social work practice.

“My personal belief is that people have a tendency to pigeonhole social workers—that we do child welfare, work in schools, or do therapy in an office, said Wallace, EdD, LSCSW, CTF-CBT/PSB, RYT, CSLC, a child trauma therapist in private practice. “A lot of colleagues focus on micro, mezzo and macro social work. I do not.” Instead, Wallace believes social workers need to incorporate all of these levels into their work, as everything is connected.

This philosophy led to her focus on the environment and how it impacts clients and communities. Wallace discussed this idea prior to presenting an NASW Specialty Practice Sections webinar on Oct. 29 titled “ Climate Justice & Social Work: The Human Cost of Environmental Harm.” It will be available on demand at the SPS Webinar Catalog.

Wallace, who lives in Topeka, Kansas, used the example of Interstate 70, which was built in the state in the 1950s and runs close to Topeka.

“When the interstate came through, all these changes happened,” she said. “… About 3,000 people were displaced. They lost homes, businesses, jobs, and some people lost property.”Additionally, they lost their community, she said. These changes not only affected their physical and financial situations, but also their emotional and mental health.

“This entire community was traumatized,” she said. “Nobody talked about trauma back then. This major change in the environment completely changed their lives … and we as a city have not addressed that.”

Wallace is now working on a study about the generational effects of the trauma caused from the construction of the interstate. She’s asking people how it affected their family financially and emotionally, and how it affects them now. Wallace said she received a grant to help with the research and when she is finished, the report will go to the state legislature, Topeka’s mayor, the governor, and others. Her hope is that the community can come up with programming and plans to help reverse some of the harm that was caused.

In all, Wallace said, 300,000 people across the country were affected by the construction of Interstate 70, which is an east-west highway that runs between Utah and Maryland. Many of those who were displaced lived in marginalized communities with older, run-down houses, she said.

“Across the country, people were talking about the blighted homes, but not why they were blighted,” Wallace said, adding that many were rentals that the property owners did not take care of. “I need social workers to understand that our work is almost like a Band-aid on an open wound. We can be amazing at helping people deal with things, but if we’re not addressing what caused these things, we’re spinning our wheels.”

Of course the construction of I-70 is just one example of how environmental changes can affect families and communities.

“This is worldwide, it’s not just the U.S.,” Wallace said. “Social workers need to pay attention to environmental factors. People are struggling.”

The webinar Wallace presented focused on defining climate justice and its relevance to social work practice; explaining how environmental harms disproportionately impact marginalized communities; analyzing the intersection of climate change, trauma and social determinants of health; and identifying strategies for climate-informed and justice-oriented advocacy.

Chase Chats

NASW also discussed this topic during an Aug. 28 Facebook Live event called “Chase Chats: Climate Change. How Should Social Workers Respond?”Panelists weighed in on the different aspects of climate change, including environmental impacts, effects on health and mental health, and justice and equity.

Suggestions for the ways social workers can get involved include through advocacy; education; coalition-building; creating projects and programs; disaster response and preparedness; and helping people cope with eco-anxiety and trauma.

One panelist, Ben Fulgencio-Turner, director of the Climate for Health program at ecoAmerica, said there are many ways social workers can be involved because the impacts of climate change touch on many different parts of people’s lives. But it’s not all doom and gloom, he pointed out.

“Climate solutions can bring immediate benefits,” he said. “They can improve health and strengthen communities. There is a story of resilience and building to meet the moment, and social workers can lead that.”

Chase Chats is a series of ongoing Facebook Live events hosted by NASW President Yvonne Chase, where she and panelists discuss current topics relevant to the social work profession. Past topics include self-care for social workers; artificial intelligence; immigration; and the rise of authoritarianism and the crackdown on homelessness. You can view them on NASW’s YouTube channel.