COVID-19: Social Work Responds

When you first meet someone, you introduce yourself. I am Melissa Thompson, Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work at Dominican University. I am delighted you found this blog. Why?

Because it's important and it has the goal of adding important knowledge to social work at a perilous time. Graduate students taking Social Work and Health will be researching and writing for this blog throughout the semester. We agreed that during times of crisis, the United States has a history of amplifying discrimination against marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed groups and we are seeing so many examples of this each day.

The purpose of this blog it to raise awareness of the impact OVID-19 has had on the groups and communities social workers serve and the role social work can play in mitigating the impacts of this global pandemic. Using technology for health outcomes is nothing new, but for many students, onsite field placements are a challenge to find. Since the pandemic limits social workers abilities to reach decision makers and clients alike, we wondered, "How do we get important information like this out to those who need it?"

And that is how the COVID-19: Social Work Responds blog was born.

We appreciate any comments you'd like to share with our authors and would be so humbled if you could share this important information with others.

Many thanks!

Professor Melissa Thompson

School of Social Work

Dominican University

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When Everyone’s Home: Social Distancing and Domestic Violence

Addressing domestic violence is a complex endeavor for social workers and survivors. The collaborative relationship focuses on two things above all else: safety and empowerment through self-determination. Many times it seems these goals are at odds with each other. When survivors end relationships, persons harming them, often becomes more dangerous. When survivors remain, abuse usually worsens. Our responsibility as social workers is to create, maintain, advocate for, and make accessible the supports and resources survivors need to make their decisions. We stand with survivors and their families as they navigate extremely difficult times, weaving a net of support that strengthens and grows each year. Despite these efforts, when Covid-19 came, that net of support strained and tore just as many survivors needed it most. What is Domestic Violence? Domestic violence refers to the behavioral patterns employed by one person to maintain power and control over another person in an intima...

COVID-19 and the Impact on Predominately Latinx/Immigrant Communities: Why the Surge in Cases will Continue to Rise in Chicago Latinx Communities

“During times of crisis, the United States has a history of amplifying discrimination against marginalized groups,” says Melissa Thompson, MSW, LCSW, a Clinical Assistant Professor at Dominican University, and that is no different with COVID-19. Earlier in the year in April and May, two workers from the Bimbo Bakeries USA factory in Cicero, Illinois, died from SARS-CoV-2. The issue is that not only did the two workers died from COVID-19, but that Bimbo Bakeries USA also made the decision to not stop production for the well-being of their current employees or increase COVID-19 sanitization procedures. It was shared with some news outlets that when employees of Bimbo Bakeries USA were informed about the positive COVID-19 cases, they were given the option to continue to work or go home for the ten days recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) but without pay or termination , (S...

COVID19 Increase Financial Hardships Within the Low-Income Population

COVID19 has impacted everyone all around the world. The most vulnerable population who has been impacted financially is the low-income; Black and Hispanic families. “Job losses have left families struggling to pay for necessities like housing, food and medical care, while those who are still employed report difficulty finding childcare” (Jenco, 2020). Many of us know of someone who contracted the virus, others have loss family, or friends from the virus. Not only did families lost family or friends due to the virus but did you know the most vulnerable population has lost their job or work hours have been reduce due to COVID19? “That includes 62% of Hispanic families, 50% of black families and 36.5% of white families” (Jenco, 2020). According to a survey conducted, “One-quarter of families experienced food insecurity, including more than one-third of low-income, black and Hispanic families. Roughly 10.5% of all families were late with their rent or mortgage payment o...

C0VID-19: Social Work Responds

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