Final Blog Post of 2022
Whew!! I am not sure about you, but 2022 have been a year of ups and downs within our field and within many of our personal lives. I want to take a few minutes in this post to talk about some of the good and not so good over the past year. There can be a releasing and letting go that happens when we review what has happened in the past. A knowing can help awareness stay in the past while savoring the present moment experience. Both can help us to have hope for the future. Acknowledging, letting go, savoring, and creating hope helps move pain and trauma through our body so its doesn’t get stuck.
My top three things about 2022:
1. Presentations!
This year allowed me to be a part of a number of presentations for self care, substance use/housing, and being a delegate for NASW-MI. I had the honor of presenting with my fellow delegates at the Legislative Education and Advocacy Day(LEAD) about the process of providing feedback on the Code of Ethics and important topics of advocacy within NASW. I also talked to other helping professions (non-profit workers and behavioral specialists) to encourage them to take care of themselves and protect against secondary trauma. My most powerful experience had to be presenting for NASW-MI on the impact of access to housing when someone has a substance use disorder. Housing is a fundamental right for all people.
2. Travel events-
Being able to see more of the world is an important experience. Being able to go on solo vacations is tremendously powerful and empowering. Wandering, seeking and exploring is good for our souls and minds. My daughter started her first year in college at Michigan Tech so traveling to the UP was on the agenda! I also was able to take a solo trip to Harper’s Ferry West Virginia to better understand this community and see Civil War sites where so many died fighting for rights we are still arguing over now.
3. Creating meaningful work-
Leaving work situations that no longer serve is scary! This year I had the chance to leave an agency and start working with the people I love to work with; other social workers and therapist. I have started my full time private practice journey this year which has opened up space for me to teach and provide clinical supervision. I enjoy helping to grow and enrich my own professional skills. I also enjoy learning from my students and the other professionals I serve.
My bottom three things about 2022:
1. ASWB results-
In August 2022, the Association of Social Work Boards released 10 years of test taking results that showed very abysmal and concerning failing rates of people of color within the profession. These results point to troubling and concerning racism and discrimination within their test taking system. In December 2022, ASWB did indicate they are changing how many answers are available for questions from 4 to 3 and they will allow food during the test. As the writing of this blog post, there continues to be little movement in bettering understanding the data and how ASWB will make their tests more equitable for students of color.
Source: https://www.aswb.org/testing-enhancements/
2. Lack of student debt relief-
While President Biden did sign an executive order to forgive up to $20,000 for people with Perkins Loans, it is now tied up in court and hopefully will be heard by the Supreme Court in 2023. While $20,000 is helpful for some people with student loan debt, many of us have six figures of debt because many of us who are social workers also needed a Masters degree in order to have employment that takes care of our basic needs. No longer does a Bachelors of Social Work help support a family or take care of us as single people. In many states and with many healthcare plans, social workers are required to be paneled and have a license at a Masters level in order to earn wages that are more equitable. We need more debt forgiveness and to make the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program easier to complete and less work time needed to meet criteria.
3. Continued pain (mass shootings, police shootings of black males and antisemitism)-
Again this year sees more mass shootings, more police shootings that involved the death of black and brown people, and higher incidents of anti-semitism/racist speech. As a people, we are a people in tremendous pain from historical trauma, COVID, misinformation, and disconnection. Trying to address these issues seems overwhelming, complex and seemingly unending. As social workers, we have continued to show up, show kindness/empathy and help people advocate for more just laws, policies and to encourage people to vote.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being with me on this journey and I look forward to 2023!
