Celebrating Social Work Month
By Chelsea Jupin
Over 100 social workers and their colleagues from Lower East Side settlement houses celebrated Social Work Month 2017 with a breakfast and program hosted by Henry Street Settlement. Staff members from United Neighborhood Houses, Grand Street Settlement, Educational Alliance, University Settlement, Chinatown Planning Council and Hamilton-Madison Houses attended the event on March 29.
In welcoming the guests, Henry Street Settlement Executive Director David Garza played off the theme of this year’s Social Work Month, Social Workers Stand Up, by quoting pioneering social worker Jane Addams: “We stand today united in a belief in beauty, genius and courage, and that these can transform the world.” Garza moved from the history of social workers to address what would be a recurring theme throughout the morning — the current climate facing social work. “Today when much of what we stand for is at risk,” said Garza, “I can’t think of any place I’d rather be standing than in a room full of social workers because I know that you have the fight in you.”
David Garza
Keynote speaker Maria Lizardo, LMSW, Executive Director of Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), congratulated her fellow social workers, noting, “we have touched people’s lives. We transform families and communities.” Lizardo addressed the current stresses in working with immigrant communities, and the issues pertinent to the Lower East Side community as well as NMIC’s uptown. Lizardo stressed that as social workers, we have to get our immigrant clients active and informed in areas of civil engagement, saying, “we make America great and we have a right to be here.”
Maria Lizardo
Guest speaker Cyrus R. Vance Jr., Manhattan District Attorney, praised the social workers, saying, “the work you all do is amazing, and law enforcement professionals need to have a good working relationship with social workers. You are our most important partners in building healthy communities.” He discussed his office’s work with social workers to improve communities, including the recent Criminal Justice Investment Initiative, which redistributes criminal forfeiture funds obtained through settlements with international banks. Henry Street Settlement recently received $8.4 million from this Initative to create a Youth Opportunity Hub on the Lower East Side.
District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
The morning wrapped up with networking, with everyone encouraged to meet and greet with social workers who work with the same community of clients be they adults, children, seniors.
Social Work Month is celebrated each March nationwide to educate the public about the contributions of social workers and give social workers and their allies tools they can use to elevate the profession.
