  |
Message From the Executive Director
An
Open Letter to Graduating Social Work Students
Dr. Robert Schachter
This is an important moment for the social work profession. As you head toward graduation, you can be assured that your education has prepared you for some of the most effective practice that has ever been developed.
Over time, your ability to manifest all that you have learned will grow,
and your ability to make significant contributions, even in the face of
considerable challenges, will become increasingly apparent.
Almost every social worker I have met in the past 25 years entered this
profession after overcoming personal obstacles, and the decision to become
a professional social worker was inspired by this along with the profound
desire to make a difference.
Recognizing that we are part of a community of social workers is essential.
The work is too hard to do alone. It is the work we do together, each
in our own way, in our respective roles, that enables us to have a profession.
Whether we work right next to each other, or when we do not see each other
face to face, the community exists and is one large group comprised of
many smaller ones. This makes professional social work possible.
NASW is the largest formal manifestation of our broad and very diverse
professional community. In New York City, our 10,000 colleagues who are
members of NASW have in effect pooled resources by being members so that
we can collectively organize for greater recognition of the profession’s
contribution to the City’s communities and to advocate for sound
policies and programs.
Everything that we are doing at NASW-NYC is geared toward assuring that
all communities have access to quality social work services, and that
the new professionals among us are supported so that the profession can
continue, strong, into the future.
While there are so many challenges that I could enumerate right now, I
want to point out that with the aging of the population, a great many
social workers today are getting older, along with the rest of society.
In the next few years, as many as 50% of social work leaders will be retiring.
The role and importance of newer social workers to the profession and
to our communities is possibly greater than it has ever been.
Over 1,200 social work students already belong to NASW-NYC right now,
which may be half of all students. It is said that the younger generations
are not joiners of organizations such as NASW, and this may be true. It
is also possible that NASW has simply not proven itself.
I want to invite everyone to our annual meeting on May 11th, our 50th
anniversary, and for everyone to visit our website to learn more about
what the organization, sustained by 10,000 professionals, is doing for
our community. I believe that it will demonstrate why you need to be involved,
in some way.
I wish you the very, very best in your career.