“I understand these people. I know they are tired of living here. They have had difficulties. They have no one to help them.” – Chen Si Since the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge was first built in 1968, an estimated 2,000 people have died from suicide involving the bridge. According to data from 1995-99, in China’s […]

View Full Article - Trigger Warning: A Chinese Father Saved More Than 300 People at Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

The pandemic and a year of virtual schooling had an unexpected benefit for a little girl in Kenya who connected with Girls Who Code at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “I use the computer for school, and I wanted to understand more about how they work,” said Elsie Maingi, who is 10 years old and lives […]

View Full Article - A 10-Year-Old Girl in Kenya Learns Coding in Milwaukee–Virtually.

The numerous accommodations and modifications that teachers make for students often amount to a lengthy list. These adjustments can involve altering not only instruction but also lesson materials, which tend to exhaust much of a teacher’s planning time. While circumstances, symptoms, and needs vary from student to student, there are some of the best “universal” […]

View Full Article - Easy Strategies and Accommodations for Behavioral and Mental Health Needs in Learning Enviorments

Maybe I am a hopeless romantic, but I believe that workplace environments are akin in many ways to romantic relationships. If we spend the majority of our time in a certain place, doing certain things, we should love it, just as we should love a romantic partner.  Both need some degree of give and take […]

View Full Article - Pain or Pleasure: What do You Feel When You Go to Work

On August 12, 2020, Gordon Wayne began a 16 day, 550-mile trek from Virginia to Boston College, all on foot. At first glance, Gordon may appear to be an average, middle-class college student. However, last year, Gordon was facing very different circumstances. Despite working extremely long hours and attending community college, Gordon was experiencing homelessness. […]

View Full Article - From Homelessness to Giving Back – A Student’s Journey

Who (or what) comes to your mind when you think about active listening? For me, I think about my girlfriend Jo. She gives her complete attention to my stories, her sole intention to understand. She does not interrupt while I narrate, excepting necessary clarifications. The energy steers me to confide in her. She is my […]

View Full Article - How are We Listening to Our Clients in Times of Crisis?

The rapid spread of COVID-19 across the United States caused a serious disruption in the daily lives of most American workers. Although many people are able to work from home, or are still working under “essential employee” status, others have been laid off or furloughed.  The Healthcare Sector In the healthcare industry, doctors and nurses, […]

View Full Article - What Options Do Furloughed Workers Have?

The Sierra Club did something very difficult: it admitted it had a problem. The long-standing conservation organization released a statement acknowledging the prejudices of its founder and environmental icon, John Muir, along with its problematic beginnings and harmful impacts to Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. In the wake of George Floyd’s killing […]

View Full Article - What We Could Learn From The Sierra Club’s Self-Reckoning

If you are a social worker, you probably know better than anyone just how much pressure has been put on professionals since the Covid-19 crisis began. It appears that more than 70% of children’s social workers are struggling with caseloads since the pandemic outbreak according to recent data. Only 4% said their workload was ‘comfortably […]

View Full Article - How to Deal with Case-Overload as a Social Worker and Carer

Traditionally, academics and policymakers have determined whether an individual or family can afford to live somewhere by simply dividing their housing costs by their income. If at least 30 percent of a person’s or family’s income goes to housing and related expenses like utilities, then their household is said to be “cost burdened.” The ratio […]

View Full Article - Why Housing Affordability Needs To Be Reevaluated

When it comes to Covid-19, unlike manliness, different approaches can be measured objectively by numbers of cases and deaths. By that measure, the heads of state who imposed isolation measures early, relying on medical experts, clearly saved lives in places such as New Zealand, Germany, and Taiwan. Those countries’ leaders are female and have drawn attention. […]

View Full Article - Why Countries With Women Leaders are Beating Coronavirus

COVID-19 has proven to be a worldwide tragedy. Four billion people are now under orders to stay at home. As of this writing, nearly two million individuals have tested positive worldwide for COVID-19 and there are over 100,000 deaths. The United States is now leading the world in confirmed cases with over 500,000 cases identified. […]

View Full Article - Wake-Up Call for Human Devastation of Natural World

As we begin a new decade, 2020 is testing the mental health of humanity. After the world mourned the loss of Kobe Bryant to start the new year,  we are now in the midst of a global corona virus pandemic with looming public health and economic consequences so severe experts are unable to quantify its […]

View Full Article - Making Your Mental Health a Priority in 2020

Over the past week, President Trump has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus.” The virus, first reported in China in November, has now spread to every continent. Today, most reported cases are outside of China. Mr. Trump has denied accusations of racism. Instead, he claims he is countering a disinformation campaign promoted by […]

View Full Article - Racializing the Corona Virus Disease is Not Helpful

From the U.S. travel ban to the rise of anti-immigrant populists in Europe, politicians often decry migration in times of moral and economic crisis. Controversies can easily preclude a balanced understanding of what migration means – not only for immigrants and their new societies, but also for the places migrants leave behind. Recent waves of […]

View Full Article - The Untold Migration Story – How Improved Policies Can Benefit Both Receiving And Sending Societies

Now is the time to contribute to one of the largest platforms on earth in order to implement changes that benefit all. For the first time, the 68th Annual UN Civil Society Conference is leaving United Nations Headquarters in New York City and heading to Salt Lake City, Utah August 26-28, 2019. For those in […]

View Full Article - Who Wants to Make a Macro Contribution to the United Nations?

Today (10 May 2019) legislation was passed in the Scottish Parliament to ensure more child witnesses are able to pre-record evidence ahead of a jury trial, preventing the traumatic experience of presenting in court. The Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Bill aims to improve the quality of evidence given for the most serious offences. In response, Kate […]

View Full Article - Scotland’s Vulnerable Witnesses Bill Unanimously Passes in Parliament – Victim Support Scotland reacts

As it turns out, the behaviour of people around us is contagious. This is truer the closer these relationships are – we are much more influenced by the attitudes of friends and family than we are by those of strangers. We often think of peer pressure as a bad thing we should resist, but it […]

View Full Article - Under Pressure to Hide Your True Self

“Logic clearly dictates the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” – Dr. Spock (Star Trek) This quote is at the heart of a complex political debate; Dr. Spock doesn’t think it’s that complex.  Social justice is one of the tenants of social work practice. This often places social work on the […]

View Full Article - How Should Social Work Respond To The United States Leaving The Paris Agreement?

Most of us have been there – you look in your diary, see that you have a review case conference for a particular family in a few days and your heart sinks. Two boys who have been on the child protection register for two years. Neglect is the primary risk indicator. Mum came along to […]

View Full Article - How a Maori Model of Improving Care Experience Has Been Transformative for a Family in Glasgow