Thank you to our social workers! Social Work Week: March 5 - 9th, 2018

We would like to acknowledge and thank all of our hardworking social workers who work tirelessly impacting lives and spreading hope and happiness each day.

Social Work Week is celebrated annually across Canada during the month of March with a theme chosen each year that reflects the ideals and values of social workers.

This year’s theme is: “Social Workers on the Front Line of Real Issues.” This theme accurately describes a day in the life of a Saint Elizabeth social worker. It is also precisely why virtually every social worker has been told “I wouldn’t want your job” or “I couldn’t be a social worker” more than once over the course of their professional career.

Poverty, inadequate housing, limited resources, conflict and abuse in relationships and families, as well as mental health struggles and crises are just a few of the real issues that social workers address on a daily basis. These issues are rarely seen as exclusively individual or personal problems. Social workers look beyond the individual to the context of their families, workplaces, and communities. The issues that individuals face are often a reflection of public and social inequalities which is why social workers are tireless advocates for responsive communities and governments.

While addressing the underlying social and economic conditions, social workers approach individuals with a strengths based perspective. Understanding and mobilizing individual’s internal strengths and resilience is essential to both overcoming obstacles and fostering both growth and change. Social workers are characteristically passionate about their work and wouldn’t want to do any other work!