🤝 Homelessness, aging, and "crack pipes"
Your 02/13/22 update on all things social work
Good morning!
Today’s question: Along with Jane Addams, this social work pioneer is considered the “mother of professional social work”. Some of her accomplishments include founding social case work, advocating for children's bureau and juvenile court systems, and being at the forefront of what eventually became systems theory, which we were all forced to learn about during school.
News
Coexisting with homelessness
There’s no escaping the reality of homelessness in our society. We are endlessly confronted by it, especially those of us who are living in urban areas and using public transportation.
This is highlighted in a recent article by the Denverite that discusses the “battles” between the rich and poor in a region in Denver. Throughout the article, we are woven through the world of the rich, who face plummeting property values and safety concerns due to “crime, homelessness and drug use in the streets below”.
In an effort to fight back, the rich have begun advocating for programs including day shelters, syringe exchange programs, and an overall increase in “law and order”.
Fortunately, there are promising innovative solutions that can help those facing housing insecurity. One of these solutions is the tiny-home movement. The movement has taken hold in California, Indiana, Missouri, and Oregon. Even Arnold Schwarzenneger is a fan: In fact, he donated money to build 25 tiny houses for homeless veterans in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, every solution comes with unforeseen difficulties. One of the issues with tiny homes is that they are usually located further from town, and further from jobs, groceries and social services. This can isolate people from the systems which can help and support them.
Other social work-related news
What’s going on with shelters in NYC? The city’s only LBGTQ shelter is “a nightmare” and the boss of another shelter has pled guilty to bribery 😶
Aspiring social worker facing homelessness used reddit to become a dating coach 👩❤️👨
In India, marital rape is not a crime. Some men want to keep it that way
Co-founder of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) dies at age 101
Policy
AI for the aging
How can we ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) benefits the aging?
A brief by the World Health Organization set out to answer this question. Eight considerations were outlined to ensure that AI benefits older people:
Participatory design of AI technologies by and with older people
Age-diverse data science teams
Age-inclusive data collection
Investments in digital infrastructure and digital literacy for older people and their health-care providers and caregivers
Rights of older people to consent and contest
Governance frameworks and regulations to empower and work with older people
Increased research to understand new uses of AI and how to avoid bias
Robust ethics processes in the development and application of AI
Other reads on policy
Fact-checking claims that democrats will be sending people “crack pipes”
Democratic governor Ned Lamont released a $24 billion state budget which included $160 million in additional funding for mental health services. Of this funding, $26.4 million will be used to expand access to mobile crisis units for adults and children
Research
Engagement in underserved communities
Patients assigned to psychotherapy from staff at their local clinic ended up completing 60% more such sessions than those who were assigned to connect with a psychologist via video
This was one of the findings of a recent study that sought to better understand the relationship between treatment engagement and different treatment types. The study used data from “the largest mental health trial ever conducted in primary care clinics serving rural populations,” namely the Study to Promote Innovation in Rural Integrated Telepsychiatry (SPIRIT) program.
Other findings of the study showed that:
Having an onsite care manager led to greater engagement, as compared to telehealth services only
The severity of manic symptoms in those who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder led to decreased treatment engagement
People with more physical difficulties had greater rates of engagement in mental health treatment
Other reads on research
Mental health treatments must not overlook those with chronic pain: A study found that people living with a spinal cord injury were diagnosed with a mental health condition more often than those without the injury—59.1% versus 30.9%
Research found that microdosing (eating small doses of psilocybin) does not appear to improve symptoms of anxiety or depression
Books for Social Workers
Have any other book recommendations? Send them in by replying to this email.
Answer: Mary Ellen Richmond
P.S. Make sure that the newsletter is hitting your inbox and not your spam/junk mail. If you need help on how to do this, you can reference this article.