Social Work Students Honored to Help Families and Represent SLU During a Public Health Crisis
05/21/2020
First responders are the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors, police officers and firefighters—their work hasn’t gone unnoticed, and their sacrifice is appropriately praised. Social workers are also out on the front lines responding to needs during this public health crisis. Several students studying social work at Saint Louis University are using their skills to be front and center in the battle against COVID-19.
Master of Social Work (MSW) May 2020 graduate, Elaine Andell was in the midst of completing her practicum at Hazelwood West High School in North St. Louis when the need to control the spread of the coronavirus caused school closures. Due to schools now being online and the stay-at-home order in effect, Elaine had to find innovative ways to continue her practicum from afar. Elaine has been working with parents and local agencies to ensure Hazelwood families get items they need during this time. She’s also using Zoom to provide short-term counseling to students who need extra emotional support. “I’m proud of the work I have been doing!” says Elaine. Her great work doesn’t end with the Hazelwood community either.
“At night, I answer crisis hotlines for Provident Crisis Services, including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.” She’s often joined on the phone virtually side-by-side with other SLU MSW students and alumni doing risk assessments and providing crisis intervention services as well as offering a listening ear for those struggling with mental health concerns. Elaine believes she was well-prepared to do the work she’s doing now.
“It has been a very stressful and tumultuous time, but I feel very grateful that my SLU education has prepared me to rise to these challenges and meet the needs of our community.”
Coronavirus an added hurdle in the fight against addiction
Rachel Joseph, an MSW student, graduating in August 2020 from the clinical program at SLU-Lourdes University in Toledo, Ohio shares Elaine’s sentiments. “While this pandemic has disrupted what we all knew as ‘normal,’ this new set of challenges has provided me with an opportunity to ‘walk the walk’ under pressure and fulfill the commitment to my clients, Saint Louis University, the NASW code of ethics, and most importantly to myself,” says Rachel. A Licensed Social Worker who is currently interning at an addiction and mental health treatment center, Rachel works with individuals who are battling addiction along with “co-occurring” mental health disorders. The threat of coronavirus has become one more hurdle in their road to recovery, but Rachel still works closely with her clients to do all she can to make sure they end up on the right side of their fight, even while social distancing. Like Elaine, she doesn’t take that for granted.
“I am honored by each person that allows me the opportunity to be a part of their recovery journey.”
Renee Harris (Master of Social Work 2021) has also had to make adjustments to the way she does her job as a result of COVID-19. A family care manager for Amethyst Place in Kansas City, Missouri, Renee works with a team that provides support to women who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Those supports include housing and social services to promote healthy families, as many of the women have children. “Preserving this safe environment is particularly crucial—and challenging” during a pandemic, says Renee. A military veteran from the United States Army Reserves, she is the “boots on the ground” for her team. While most of the therapeutic services they provide have been relegated to videoconferencing, in-person case management is essential to their work, and Renee conducts most of it. She also helps the families she serves to meet basic needs, such as buying groceries and getting medication. On top of that, she coordinates the delivery of food donations from local schools and restaurants and assists families with setting up computers so they have access to support homeschooling and other necessary functions in the COVID era. Renee understands the importance of maintaining balance, even during a public health crisis; she tries to keep it as light as possible for the families she serves by hosting a BINGO night for them on Facebook Live every Friday night.
Renee finds that what her clients need is no different from what most people who’ve found their routines turned upside down by a pandemic and the tides of uncertainty need—and that’s to know they’re going to be okay and that someone cares. “For mothers in recovery,” she says, “social isolation, lack of control, anxiety, and depression are particularly dangerous triggers.” Her main priority is to help keep the recovery community safe.
Helping people continue to thrive in the midst of a pandemic
Nicole Klco is also making a difference in the community she now calls home. An MSW student who's proud to live in The Ville, a historical African American neighborhood in North St. Louis. She has been staying at Claver House Commons, a nonprofit founded 20 years ago by Steve Hutchison to revitalize The Ville. As a resident, Nicole is able to serve on the core team, which runs several youth programs, including Science Saturdays, community gardens, summer camp, Aviation Discovery, and Read and Feed. While the COVID-19 pandemic will prevent many of those activities from happening this year, it cannot stop the overall work of Claver House and the team has adapted by changing their approach to meet the current needs.
“We realize that as the current struggle hits us all hard, it is devastating for those who did not have anything they could afford to lose.”
Local churches and agencies have been donating food and supplies to the house. They’ve received so much food, Nicole said, that their living room has looked like the local grocery store at times. On Saturdays, they sort, package, and distribute groceries to their neighbors, including seniors who live in the Homer G. apartments. Their goal is to provide food and supplies to their neighbors at least once a month. “Claver House is a way to give and receive from this historical community, and I am honored to be a part of it,” says Nicole.
Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis student (2021) Jessica Laughlin has discovered that therapy is even more critical during a crisis. As an intern and Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) at Blue Springs Pediatrics in Blue Springs Missouri, she conducts home-based therapy. That still happens today but with much greater precaution and in a limited capacity to honor social distancing guidelines. “The parents are required to fill out a form to ensure that everyone in the home is healthy. Additionally, when in the client’s home, we are limiting exposure to anyone else in the household by providing therapy in one designated room or going outside,” says Jessica. She provides therapeutic services for a four-year-old client who has autism. She says the work she does with him is “essential to limit regress in the progress he has made over the last two years of ABA therapy.”
Like Jessica, Rachel Merz also recognized the importance of maintaining continuity in service despite the limits set on face-to-face interaction. A May 2020 graduate of the social work program in the College for Public Health & Social Justice, Rachel was completing her practicum hours with the School District of University City when school closures began due to Coronavirus. Despite not being able to go into the high school where she was working, Rachel has still been able to get her hours and help families at the same time by working with a team at U City to establish and run a Grab & Go Meal Pick Up. This ensures that many of those students who relied on free lunch don’t miss a meal.
“From administrators, to cafeteria food service employees, and volunteers in the community, everyone has been putting in countless hours and effort to ensure that no child is going hungry in our community.”
Like her fellow SLU social work students, Rachel is honored to be a part of a team that is helping meet some of the needs of families impacted by the pandemic. “I am so grateful to be able to witness and play a role in the dedication and teamwork being displayed by my practicum site as a whole,” she says. Rachel’s efforts along with those of other student’s have made a big impact on Superintendent of University City Schools, Sharonica L. Hardin-Bartley, Ph.D., PHR. "During this very challenging and uncertain time, our school district community truly appreciates the support from individuals such as Rachel. Her efforts extend beyond academia and represent the importance of human connectedness, a value that I feel is critical to the field of social work. We are fortunate to have her as part of our UCity family."
These social work students are doing great work that pays off by knowing that they are helping those that need it most during the COVID-19 pandemic. We applaud these students and all those not mentioned as they continue to do their part in the fight against coronavirus. We couldn’t be more proud of their efforts.
About the College for Public Health and Social Justice
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.
Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the College offers nationally recognized programs in public health, social work, health administration, urban planning, applied behavior analysis, criminology and criminal justice, and outcomes research and data science.