It’s Social Work Week in B.C. – time to celebrate social workers and the many ways these professionals help our communities. It is a time for us to celebrate ourselves and practice much-needed self care.
Not too long ago, in the midst of the pandemic, I went for a relaxing walk on the beach to catch my breath and re-ground myself; among the many skills I have collected as a professional social worker.
I started as a child care worker on the North Shore in the 1990s, a “job” that was so much more than a pay cheque. My subsequent studies at UBC in social work and philosophy opened many career paths: brain wellness and mental health, affordable housing development, advocacy, mediation, elder care. I had to muster all my learning that day on the beach.
As I balanced on a log, a woman stopped me and asked if I was vaccinated against COVID-19. “Oh, oh” I thought to myself, “here we go.”
Day after day, my job involved dealing with people’s strong convictions on both sides of the COVID issue. As an evidenced, science-based practitioner and having worked in respiratory medical social work I had come to my own informed decisions. But seeing the stress, fear and grief COVID was causing, I knew my job was not to take sides, but rather to listen and support. During the pandemic I spent much of my time, not just as a social worker but also as a friend and colleague, helping people to process their feelings and beliefs around COVID – the causes, treatments and the public health measures.
I put my best foot forward on that log and smiled, “Yes I am vaccinated. Twice. Why do you ask?” And out it came, all the pain, fear, anxiety and loneliness of the pandemic. It was heartbreaking to listen to, but nothing I hadn’t already heard a million times at that point.
“Once you become a social worker,” a professor told us in social work school, “you will be one 24 hours/day. For your parents, kids, friends, strangers, colleagues, and clients.”
There, on the beach, I knew the woman who had stopped me needed a social worker and I was honoured to help, providing much needed mental health first aid.
Our job as social workers is to build bridges for people and communities. Social Work Week is when we can stop, reflect, and celebrate our many important roles.
John Richmond is the branch representative for Vancouver/Sunshine Coast/Sea to Sky for the BC Association of Social Workers. He is a registered social worker and holds a master of social work.
