VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3
DECEMBER 2014
In This Issue
Your Support for Widener Social Work
Students, Alumni Make Social Justice a Priority
Rites of Passage Across the Lifespan
Dr. Barnett Secures $1.4 Million for Boys and Girls Club of Chester
Phi Alpha Partners with Women Against Abuse
BSW Club Raises Awareness of Domestic Violence, NOH8
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Upcoming CE Event
"Vicarious Trauma and Burnout: Ethics of Self-Care When Managing Clients in Crisis"

Tuesday, January 20, 2015
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Widener's Lathem Hall

This special event is a fundraiser hosted by Widener  Social Work's Alumni Board. The ethical training provides 3 CEUs, thus fulfilling the requirements for licensure renewal. 

Cost: $10 for current Widener students; $35 for all others

Presenters:

Alexandra Dolan, MSS, LSW, is Training Coordinator for Child Advocates' Outcomes in Behavioral Health Project. Prior to joining Child Advocates, Ms. Dolan worked at Catholic Social Services. She has extensive experience in child welfare, casework consultation, and training.

Laurie Ayler, LSW, is Clinical Coordinator for Child Advocates' Outcomes in Behavioral Health Project. Formerly a Training Coordinator and Foster Care Social Worker at Best Nest, Ms. Ayler has extensive experience in child welfare, casework consultation, and training.

To register, click HERE

Free Counseling Services for Students

Part-time Widener MSW students receive free counseling from Social Work Counseling Services. A Widener alum, Leighann Simmons, provides the services. Hours are 4-8 pm on Monday and Tuesday and 9-11 am on Thursday and Friday in the SWCS building at 1700 Walnut. For an appointment, contact
Shanna Williams at 610-499-4684

Greetings!  
  
John Poulin This holiday edition of our monthly newsletter highlights some of the important social justice work being done by Widener Social Work students, alumni, and faculty. We take seriously our mission to work for solutions to social justice issues such as poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and abuse. 

With your support, we can continue to provide our students with the tools to carry out this mission during and beyond their Widener experience. 

During this holiday season, I am asking directly for your support of our many social justice efforts through a donation of $25 or more. All donations will go directly to our pro bono community clinic, Social Work Counseling Services (SWCS), or toward student scholarships. Please read on to discover some of the important work being done by Widener Social Work faculty, staff, students and alumni. 
Social Work Counseling Services (SWCS)

We are passionate about serving the underserved and empowering our students with the resources necessary to do that work. Since its inception in 2000, SWCS has provided internships to over 200 social work students, social work services to over 3,000 community residents, and has partnered with over 30 community organizations.

Through SWCS we strive to bring social work services into settings where they wouldn't otherwise be offered. We offer cutting-edge internship experiences for our students at our community partner agencies by providing our SWCS interns with stipends, additional clinical supervision and staff development trainings as part of their SWCS internship. This year SWCS is partnering with Widener Partnership Charter School, Veterans Law Clinic, College Access Center, and Boys and Girls Club of Chester.
Clinical Services for Vulnerable Adults (CSVA)

In addition to providing internship opportunities in community partner agencies, SWCS also offers direct clinical services for vulnerable adults, their families and caretakers. These services are offered at the SWCS program offices, in the consumers homes and at community agencies. 

CSVA, led by MSW Program Director Dr. Beth Barol, offers free clinical, case management, and other support services for vulnerable populations including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness, and people with severe mental illness. The program is unique in that it also serves client families, support staff, and other caretakers. Referrals come from our partnerships at Delaware County Division of Adult and Family Services and other local agencies. 

Funding for the Work
 
Supervision, student stipends, trainings, and some program costs for SWCS services are funded primarily by generous donors like you who are passionate about this work. Your donation will help us build relationships and change lives. Please make a donation of $25 or more to help support our pro bono clinic (SWCS) and scholarships for our students.

Gifts can be made online by clicking this link: 


You may choose to donate to Social Work Counseling Services(in which case it will fund our pro bono clinic) or to the Center for Social Work Education (in which case it will fund student scholarships).

You may also donate by sending your check made out to Widener University to: 

Mary Ellen Ferkler
Social Work Development Fund
Center for Social Work Education
Widener University
One University Place
Chester, PA, 19013
Thank you again for your commitment to this work. Your continued donations provide the crucial support needed for us to continue these efforts.

Happiest of Holidays,
John Poulin, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Social Work Education


Widener Social Work Students, Alumni Make Social Justice a Priority

Social workers understand the importance of social justice. It's in our Code of Ethics, our classrooms, and our field education programs. But for many Widener Social Work students and alumni, fighting for social justice is their life's work.

Chase Smith, a dual degree MSW/Human Sexuality student, is a great example. Chase works in the Refugee Resettlement Program at Lutheran Children and Family Service. Chase helps refugee families in their critical first 90 days in the U.S. He provides counseling and education as they apply for social security cards, identification, medical insurance, immunizations, and enroll their children in school. He also leads cultural orientation sessions to help clients understand U.S. law, currency, and employment services.

Today many of his clients are refugees from Rowanda and Uganda, with increasing numbers from war-torn Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. He sees their challenges as a political and social justice issue.

"These people come here with prestigious degrees, working for their government or military," he said. "Most have been through so much already with poor health or nutrition problems. We offer them asylum, but we don't recognize their education credentials. They're stripped of all of that. It's humiliating."

Chase's passion for working with refugee populations began when he was a sophomore in college. He spent several months working at an orphanage in Tanzania in 2010. That experience inspired him to pursue the MSW at Widener.

"It totally changed the way I viewed the world. I just kept seeing these huge needs and no provision for psychological first aid. That's how I became interested in researching and studying this. Now one of my goals is to get psychological first aid recognized as one of the basic human rights in times of conflict."

Widener Alum Jason Alexandre is another example of someone following his passion for social justice. Jason is a social worker at Catholic Social Services in Chester. He works with the Housing Resource Coordination Program serving mostly single mothers and domestic abuse survivors and their children. 

Jason Alexandre, left, is using his MSW to serve homeless and domestic abuse survivors in Chester.
This year, Jason's efforts have resulted in housing for 31 families in Delaware and Chester counties.

During Jason's second-year internship at Catholic Social Services, he facilitated therapeutic day programs three times a week. Veterans, homeless people, domestic violence survivors, and young parents all attended the weekly "Coffee Clubs". Today, Jason continues his work in the program.

"A lot of our clients suffer from trauma and you could easily become numb from the stories you hear," he said. "You have to be able to use your head and your heart, keeping those core social work principles at the forefront. Widener Social Work really prepared me with sound interpersonal and advocacy skills to help clients get the services and opportunities they deserve."

Lauren Silverstone, a second-year MSW student and SWCS intern, is currently working with Widener's VA Law Clinic. She is one of two social work interns who provide counseling, referrals, home visits, and other support for low-income and disabled veterans.  

Lauren enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2011 but, before basic training began, she was sidelined with an illness. 

"I was unable to re-enlist, so now I see this work as the best way to personally give back to these men and women, " she said. "I see this client population as forgotten and tossed aside. Many of them need medical services, mental health services, and help readjusting to civilian life. We help them find the necessary services at a cost that they can afford." 

Clinical Services for Vulnerable Adults (CSVA) is our newest social justice initiative. SWCS interns are provided with training and clinical tools to reach out to underserved populations including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness, and people with severe mental illness. 

CSVA services are offered through SWCS. Four Widener Social Work faculty--Drs. Beth Barol, Jen Cullen, Ginny Focht-New, and Jolynn Haney--are voluntarily providing clinical supervision to the CSVA interns.
  
"We think this will provide our students with experiences that people don't usually get in internships," said Dr. Barol. "We're giving them opportunities to help build our program, to connect with area agencies and organizations, and to assess individual and community needs. They'll be helping people at all levels, and this will be great preparation for future practice."

This year six SWCS interns are on the CSVA team providing case management, onsite outpatient therapy, crisis intervention, welfare-to-work, GED preparation, and assessment services to vulnerable adults. Sarah Jeblowski is a second-year SWCS intern in the CSVA program.

"A lot of the people we work with haven't received the best, most informed services, and some of those services have actually caused them more harm," she said. "We provide comprehensive services from trauma-informed perspectives. Beth, Ginny, and Jen are profound in the way that they are able to conceptualize ideas, teach, and model. We're learning from some of the best advocates and teachers in the field."
Second Annual "Rites of Passage Across the Lifespan" A Huge Success

More than 100 students, faculty, and community members attended this year's Rites of Passage event. Participants enjoyed presentations, panel discussions, cultural artifact stations, and films highlighting the importance of cultural beliefs and practices in a variety of populations. 

Marina Barnett
Widener Social Work Professor Marina Barnett

 

Widener Social Work Prof and Alum Team Up to Secure $1.4 Million for Boys and Girls Club of Chester

 

Widener Social Work Professor Marina Barnett collaborated with Widener alum Janet Riley-Ford to secure a $1.4 million Face Forward 2 sub-grant for the Boys and Girls Club of Chester. 


 "The BGCC Face Forward 2 approach involves the leveraging of existing resources in the City of Chester and in Delaware County to develop a holistic approach designed to address the social, educational, and employment barriers of court-involved youth," said Dr. Barnett. "The goals of our program include helping court involved youth to successfully acquire the education, skills and training necessary to secure stable employment, develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, and gain a better understanding of how to make constructive changes and form meaningful relationships."  


 

According to Riley-Ford, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Chester, the three-year Department of Labor grant-awarded by Connection Training Services of Philadelphia will have 8 core concepts: 

- Case management

- Mentoring

- Educational interventions

- Service-learning

- Occupational training

- Workforce activities

- Follow up activities

- Expungement and diversion services


Widener's Social Work Counseling Services (SWCS) and Widener Law School are part of the county-wide integrated partnership with a goal of serving more than 200 youth.

  

"We are thankful to Connection Training Services for awarding us this important grant to help the young people of Chester transition into the workforce through the support of business and law communities,"said Riley-Ford.


 

District Attorney Jack Whelan echoed Riley-Ford's enthusiasm. "Juvenile arrests can follow individuals for the rest of their lives and become a major barrier to inclusion and advancement in the workforce. Through this county-wide partnership led by the Boys and Girls Club of Chester, I believe more youth will have the opportunity to leave their past transgressions behind them and look forward towards a promising, brighter future."



Phi Alpha Honor Society Partners With
 Women Against Abuse

  
Widener Social Work's Phi Alpha Honor Society partnered with Women Against Abuse to sponsor families for the holidays. Pictured, from left, Rachel Keller (Treasurer), Lauren Emma (Service Chair), Heather Hitchens (Secretary), Uwrittasee Blake, Amalia Miralrio, Yvonne Davis (President), and Amanda Higgins. 

   

  
    
BSW Club Raises Awareness of 
Domestic Violence, NOH8;  
Spreads Cheer with Devereux Youth