The Family Counselling Centre (Wefaq), is one of the centres of Qatar Foundation for Social Work of the Ministry of Social Development and Family (MSDF)
Emmanuel Macron’s Government Is Using Evictions as a Tool of Control
French interior minister Gérald Darmanin (left) has ordered that families of “delinquents” be evicted from social housing. Such collective punishment tramples on all manner of legal principles — but fits with the government’s repressive crackdown in poor suburbs.
Over a third of problems addressed by social work agency involved financial problems
During the first half of 2023, financial difficulties were the most common cases that were addressed by the Agency for Community and Therapeutic Services (ACTS).
Contingent freedom
Travel can be nearly impossible for Canadians who take methadone
Meet Our Mid-Valley: Chad Ludwig bridges service gaps for the Deaf community
Chad A. Ludwig (above) moved to Oregon from California more than a decade ago. The differences in services for residents who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing were shocking, he said. “I saw what was here and it was nothing,” Ludwig said.
Kaiser’s Massive Mental Health Care Settlement Sends Strong Message to Providers That Ignore Patient Needs
Kaiser Permanente’s $200 million settlement with the State of California for its repeated failures to provide patients with adequate and timely mental health care was a long while coming.
The Work of Moral Rebuilding Must Begin Now
Why ‘toxic masculinity’ isn’t a useful term for understanding all of the ways to be a man
My research into working-class young men in south Wales shows how masculinity is changing. Some men remain hostile to the notion of toxic masculinity and see the term as a vehicle for shaming men. And some are caught in a conflict between changing ideas of masculinity and traditional, unhealthy expressions of manhood.
‘I almost lost my will to live’: preference for sons is leaving young women in China exploited and abused
In families with strong son preference, daughters are moulded from birth to understand that they are unworthy receivers of family resources, forever indebted to their family for being born. This contributes to a deep sense of insecurity and low self-esteem and leads to a lifelong obligation to repay their “debt” by providing for the family.
Long COVID patients are much more likely to have multiple organ abnormalities
MRI scans revealed that people with long COVID were 14 times more likely to have lung abnormalities than people who never had the disease, three times more likely to have brain abnormalities and two times more likely to have kidney abnormalities. The extent of MRI abnormalities was linked to the severity of their COVID, their age and whether or not they had other diseases.
Pity the Landlord
From the outset, the mom-and-pop trope served to obfuscate the central players in New York’s housing politics.
Calorie restriction in humans builds strong muscle and stimulates healthy aging genes
NIH study suggests a small reduction in daily calories is beneficial for wellness.
Labour to omit funding of social care reform from manifesto and scale back Lords plans
According to senior party figures, Keir Starmer’s team – while committed to social care reform – do not want to offer the Tories a target that would invite them to attack the plans and make claims about the tax implications. Instead, there would be a general commitment to make changes when in office. Above: Keir Starmer speaking at the party conference last week
American Families Risk Falling Into A Doom Loop
Families who cannot manage their debt and expenses could end up in a financial death spiral—where debt payments and other expenses continue to increase, while income remains the same or even decreases. This can lead to financial ruin, such as foreclosure, bankruptcy and poverty.
Adult social care: ‘I just need somebody to check in on me’
VS says that accessing the right social care can be “difficult” because it is more focused on “basic needs”
Lived experiences of poverty in Dublin mapped out in walk-and-talk study
Dr. Joe Whelan, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Social Policy said: “The stigma of where you come from and a lack of ‘good’ options were described by the participants as core dimension of poverty. These were as real and visceral as material deprivation showing that poverty isn’t just a lack of money, it can also mean not having access to things others take for granted, not having opportunities for growth, for education, for hobbies, for mental health”.
Red-flags raised around medically-assisted death in Canada’s prisons
Since it first became legal in Canada in June 2016, 10 federal prisoners have been granted a medically-assisted death (MAID), according to the Correctional Service of Canada.
Will the Supreme Court Make Life Worse for America’s Homeless?
While homelessness is found throughout the United States, is it particularly common in the Western states. Cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle are hot spots for the national crisis, in large part because they have temperate climates year-round and rarely experience extreme weather.
Tempe to change city’s anti-discrimination policy to help more low-income residents
Tempe city council has proposed including housing choice vouchers to the city anti-discrimination ordinance
A Uniquely Terrible New DEI Policy
Attacks on faculty rights are frequent in academia, where professors’ words are now policed by illiberal administrators, state legislators, and students. I’ve reported on related controversies in American higher education for more than 20 years. But I’ve never seen a policy that threatens academic freedom or First Amendment rights on a greater scale than what is now unfolding in this country’s largest system of higher education: California’s community colleges.
Gonzalez-Rojas reintroduces legislation to eliminate social worker testing requirement
Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas has reintroduced a bill to eliminate a social work testing requirement that has been considered biased against people of color.
Sanders Says ‘Children and Innocent People Do Not Deserve to Be Punished for Acts of Hamas’
“The targeting of civilians is a war crime, no matter who does it,” said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Refugee Children Arriving in Armenia Show Signs of Severe Psychological Distress
Social workers operating in two safe spaces that UNICEF established with partners in Goris, which can serve up to 300 children daily have reported that children are dealing with intense feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear and anger, manifesting in nightmares, bedwetting, and inconsolable crying. Others have shut down and become detached, leaving them unable to express emotions or connect with the situation around them.
UND Social Work, partners secure $2.5M to improve state’s American Indian/Alaska Native Child Welfare Outcomes
The University of North Dakota Department of Social Work at the College of Nursing and Professional Development and its partners have received a second five-year $2.5 million federal award from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to continue their work statewide to reduce the disproportionate placement of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children away from their families and communities and to improve child welfare outcomes for Native children and families.
The Fight for Our America
There have always been two Americas. One based in religious zeal, mythology, and inequality; and one grounded in rule of the people and the pursuit of equality. This next election may determine which one prevails.
Marjorie Stuckle follows her heart in endowing scholarship for social work students
Marjorie Stuckle said her time studying social work at VCU was one of the most important and impactful times of her life.
Hotel-To-Homeless Shelter Contract Advances
The Days Inn on Foxon Boulevard slated to become shelter beds.
A short history of insomnia and how we became obsessed with sleep
The shift to working in factories using machines also shifted our sleep habits.
BASW & SWU Statement on Israel-Palestine conflict
Building on the greenbelt is central to solving the housing crisis – just look at how the edges of cities have changed
Our research looks at how to rethink the urban-nature divide. We have found that design that focuses on urban peripheries in socially diverse and sustainable ways can benefit residents, combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis.
Taiwan Pledges $1.5 Billion to Boost Welfare Services for Individuals with Disabilities
In a significant move towards a more inclusive society, Taiwan’s Cabinet has approved a plan to spend NT$48 billion (US$1.5 billion) over the next five years. The objective? To enhance care facilities for individuals with disabilities and increase the minimum wage for social workers and caregivers.
We Don’t Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right’s Supreme Court Supermajority
A liberal watchdog group projected an image of Leo’s face onto the building that houses the Federalist Society’s office.
‘Please Get Help’: John Fetterman Opens Up About Depression
“It’s a privilege and it’s a duty to talk about this,” Fetterman told Colbert. “Because I want everybody, you know you have an enormous platform, I want anyone who is listening to this or sees this. If you are suffering from depression, please get help. Please get help because it works.”
Who are East Lansing’s Neighborhood Resource Specialists?
Some East Lansing community members have been puzzled by the cars driving around, resembling a police car, but instead citing the name, Neighborhood Resource Specialists, on the side of the car. Some have possibly never heard of this community engagement team before.
GMB: Council has ‘dysfunctional relationship’ with union
The trade union at the centre of an increasingly fractious dispute between Swindon Borough Council and some of its social workers has sent an email to all councillors that is very critical of the current administration. Above: GMB social workers on strike early this year in Swindon
Youth hostels face tough times – but they are perfect for authentic, spontaneous experiences
My research shows that a thriving backpacking hostel ignites authentic, spontaneous interactions between strangers. A genuine sense of camaraderie – that transcends backgrounds, borders and cultures – can be fostered within its bounds. Above: Tanners Hatch youth hostel, Surrey Hills.
Being a street child in Tanzania: ‘The police chase and beat us — there’s nothing good about this life’
John (not his real name) is a 14-year-old Tanzanian who sells sugarcane on the streets of Dar es Salaam.
Shared Terrain
The neoliberal order has been exposed as fraudulent, inefficient, and inequitable. Yet it hardly lies in the dustbin of history.
She beat addiction and earned a master’s in social work to help others. A stealth Texas law said no.
Like many people who beat addiction, she was drawn to help those still in its grip. She became a licensed chemical dependency counselor in 2010, and then kept going, earning a master’s degree in social work and completing coursework for a doctorate. Her personal experience informed her professional care.
Two state lawmakers proposing bills to end sweeps of homeless encampments
A man carries his belongings from a tent site last month as Portland police and city employees clear a homeless encampment at the Fore River Parkway Trail.
Children in care being failed on island – Ofsted
Children in care on the Isle of Man are being “failed” and services need “significant improvement”, inspectors have said.
Mental health care ‘barriers’ must end, urges Guterres
Three in four people suffering from a mental health condition receive inadequate treatment – or none at all – UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, as he urged countries to “break down the barriers that prevent people from seeking support”.
Healthcare groups raise concerns over HSE children’s disability services
The bodies, which represent occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, social workers, physiotherapists and psychologists, have concerns over clinical governance, risk management and the “erosion of professional autonomy” within children’s disability services.
As West Texas’ population grows, the need for more mental health care does too
A rendering of the proposed Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center expected to open in 2025.
Fascism Comes to America
The root cause of our political distress lies with a liberal class that places corporate and personal profit above the common good. Liberals have conspired, since the presidency of Bill Clinton, to strip the country of manufacturing, and with it, jobs that sustained the working class. They have been partners in the transformation of democratic institutions into tools to consolidate the power and wealth of corporations and the ruling oligarchs.
Bangor’s homelessness crisis is taking a toll on city residents
A homeless man sits on a park bench on Main Street across from the Maine Savings Amphitheater listening to Dropkick Murphys rehearsal for their evening concert.
Non-Carceral Emergency Response Initiatives require a Cultural Shift
From funding to implementation to use, non-carceral emergency response initiatives require people to unlearn their reliance on police.
These are the mental processes required to tell a convincing lie
The cognitive work involved in lying is relevant to lie detection and could help explain why some people are better liars
Safety concerns forcing staff to leave children’s disability service teams
Waiting lists for children with disabilities are being affected by staff leaving because they are worried about working under non-specialist managers, five representative bodies have warned. Therapists, social workers, and psychologists warned their ability to deliver safe care is “in jeopardy” with concerns over safety, clinical governance, and risk management pushing people to leave these jobs.
Forging a path forward
According to the World Health Organisation, there are about 700 qualified psychiatrists for a population of almost 240 million in Pakistan. This roughly comes to a psychiatrist for 350,000 people, far below the Western average of 14-20 psychiatrists per 100,000.