Social Workers - Unsung Heroes ​

In general, Social Workers get a bad reputation in the media, but in this day and age with Social Media being such a big influence in many people’s lives, there are countless ways that social workers and us as professionals working in the sector can sing the praises of what you do every single day. As a sector I think we need to get better at saying “I’ve done a great job here” for this young person or family

I’ve been working with social workers for nearly 12 years and I’ve lost count of the many stories of positive outcomes for children and families that have been shared with me when meeting professionals. I am in a privileged position to hear these stories but unfortunately the general public only hear the negative stories. They don’t see you in the office until late in the evening trying to complete those court reports or taking a child out for a bite to eat. They don’t understand or recognise the fact that as a Social Worker, you put your own life on hold sometimes to help those that need you most.

In 2018, Channel 4 aired the drama series “Kiri” to mixed reviews. Of course, the negative reaction towards social work raised it’s ugly head yet again however there was a really lovely moment for “Miriam” (Sarah Lancaster) when she was faced with four young people who she had helped as younger children. They all had the same message: I am who I am today, because of you and we are so grateful for that. I think it would be brilliant to see more stories like this in Social Work publications and across Social Media in general.

The COVID19 pandemic tested us as a nation. It tested our resolve, our freedoms and it tested and stretched our basic human instincts....to be close to others. However, as a sector, Social Workers, their managers, front line workers were all pushed to limits and boundaries we never thought possible. So from me personally and from our team, thank you for all of your hard work each and every day.