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...

Self Care and You: Coping With COVID

Whether you’re a parent struggling to help your children with online classes, a student struggling to keep up with the amount of assignments for school, or even an essential worker risking your life for the health of others, we are all struggling together. This pandemic has changed the way we live our lives and we are all just trying to survive. Although 2020 has been an absolute rollercoaster of wildfires, murder hornets, pandemic madness, and poor leadership in America, we are all on this rollercoaster together. It might be crazy but we have each other to look to when we just need to say “What the heck is going on?”. No matter who or what we are taking care of, the most important person to take care of is ourselves. This has never been a more important time to check in with our mental health and make sure that we are doing everything we can to stay sane. Self care and mindfulness are essential these days and I am here to help you navigate the process of finding your most peacef...

C0VID-19: Social Work Responds

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