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Hello Members of the Extended Humboldt State Social Work Community, I’m writing this introduction on Indigenous Peoples’ Day and I’m thinking about people risking their safety and declaring their purpose at Standing Rock. I’m thinking about the demonstrations of strength and invitations to reflect that Black Lives Matter has brought into focus. I’m thinking about new protections for farmworkers in California. So much is going on right now to move concerns about social justice from the margins to the mainstream. Meanwhile, racism and other discriminatory practices are being espoused by the person in second place for the highest elected position in the United States. How can all this be reconciled? I don’t know. But I do know that I am proud to work in a department that is clear in its resolve to stand with people doing the good work at Standing Rock, with Black Lives Matter, and with many other efforts across the region, nation, and world that are consistent with our Department Vision Statement. Some of what we are doing to manifest this vision is within. Warmly, Ronnie Swartz Chair, Department of Social Work
Welcome Yvonne Doble – Director of Field Education GREETINGS FROM YVONNE DOBLE: As Director of Field Education, I view my purpose in this work as centered in community -having grown up here, being an active part of the local community, and being accountable to this community. Social work in general, and this program specifically, have the potential to have significant effects in both large and subtle ways upon this place I call home and especially in the lives of folks at the margins. Field education bridges classroom experience and direct practice experience, creating a vital intersection of learning and doing. My BA in Community-Based Education was informed by critical pedagogy and I am excited to support the meaningful integration of critical reflection and engagement with conversations around power and privilege and intersectionality in field education. I'm also excited to draw on my networks of current and past community practice, including work related to: foster youth advocacy, positive engagement of adolescent girls, supporting older adults to age in place, economic sustainability, criminal justice system reform, LGBTQIA communities, community arts leadership, voter education, water policy, and rural non-profit organizations. I look forward to expanding and deepening connections with our students, faculty and all of the amazing folks who give of their time and knowledge to support our students in their internship settings.
A NOTE FROM RETIRED FIELD FACULTY DIRECTOR, SHERI JOHNSON: Dear Colleagues, Students, Field Instructors, Community Partners, and Friends, I am so grateful that I have had this unique opportunity to work together on behalf of HSU students, faculty, staff and our many communities to strengthen and build our Field Education Program. It remains the goal of the HSU Department of Social Work that mutual benefits result from this shared, meaningful learning experience. The Department of Social Work Field Education Program is dedicated to supporting our community partnerships while building sustainable field internships in our region and beyond. Internships are the very heart of Social Work education. I have truly enjoyed working with tribal members, agencies, community programs, and county staff. I want to thank those individuals who choose to take on the role of supporting, teaching, and mentoring HSU students in their arduous journey to become compassionate, capable, and respectful social workers who will work effectively in tribal,
rural, urban, and international settings. I honor the investment of time, energy, and resources that such a commitment takes and I appreciate the opportunity to have worked with each of you. With your generous support, our interns and communities benefit now and for years to come. I am grateful to all of you and will remember the many students, faculty and field instructors who enabled the challenging job of Field Director to be filled with joy. It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the next Director of Field Education, Yvonne Doble, MSW. For the past three years, Yvonne has served as the Assistant Director of Distributed Learning and Assistant Director of Field Education. Yvonne grew up in Humboldt County and received a BA in Community-Based Education from Oberlin College, Ohio. She returned to Humboldt in 1999 where she spent ten years working in local nonprofits, supervising interns, consulting and volunteering in the community prior to completing her MSW at Humboldt State in 2011. Yvonne brings a passion for community engagement to this new role. Yvonne’s gifts are ever flowing. Please join me in warmly welcoming Yvonne. Her extensive experience and amazing capabilities will serve you well. I wish you all peace and happiness. Kindest regards, Sheri Johnson
Social Work Student Association at Lobby Days last spring
SAVE THE DATE FOR SPRING 2017!!!
Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council (CAPCC) of Humboldt County invited community members to attend the Children’s Memorial Flag Ceremony on Friday, April 29th, at 9 am at the Eureka Teen Center, 3015 J Street, Eureka. This ceremony is designed to bring attention to the issue of child abuse and neglect; it is an opportunity to remember children who have died as a result of this societal problem. This event is held annually on the last Friday in April to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Awareness month.
Guest speakers and Spare Change Peer Education Program representatives raised the flag alongside members of the community, law enforcement, and dignitaries to honor the children who have been affected. Ken Smith, HSU Department of Social Work lecturer and Project Coordinator of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Project, and MSW student Dianna Heimstadt were in attendance. Dianna reflects on the ceremony: "Our culture tends to want to shy away from tragedy, but it is crucial that we confront the sad facts that lead to these youth leaving us so early and that we come together to honor their precious lives. It is the only way we can begin to heal." Ken adds: "Attending the Children’s Memorial Flag Raising is one way to remember the children who have lost their lives or otherwise suffered due to abuse and/or neglect; acknowledge the trauma to their families and community; recognize the challenging work done by law enforcement officers, child welfare social workers, and many other people in numerous other agencies; and to celebrate the strengths and resilience of the community.�
SAVE THE DATE FOR SPRING 2017!!! May 5, 2017
Commencement & Native Sash Ceremony May 2016 Congratulations to our 81 BASW graduates and 49 MSW graduates on May 14, 2016! Department of Social Work Native Sash participants (included in row 2): Dianna Billy-Elliot – BASW April Davis – BASW Jeremy Muhleck - BASW Trisha Robinson – BASW Katie Sears – BASW Merris Obie – MSW Angela Sundberg- MSW
IMAGES: (L-R) Crystal Richardson, Julian Lang, James Gensaw
Indigenous Language Experience, Mentorship & Revitalization At the end of the Spring Semester , the Department of Social Work's 321 Methods course welcomed Crystal Richardson, Julian Lang, and James Gensaw to speak to students about Indigenous language experience, mentorship, and revitalization. The course, SW Methods 341, aims to expand the understanding of generalist methods and emphasizes work with organizations, community, policy, and society. The lab that accompanies the course offers students intensive opportunities to develop social work values, knowledge, and practices consistent with the topics included in the methods course. There is considerable opportunity for self-reflection in relation to the development of one's practice. Meri Black, BASW Class of 2017, was in attendance and remembers a statement James Gensaw offered: “In Yurok there is no word for “TREE”, instead our language tells us; that's a redwood, that's an oak,... when each piece of nature has a name, it gives it life, and you have a responsibility to it.” "If I could interpret the meaning it had to me," says Black, "it would be that language revitalization creates a more in-depth connection to the land. Because a relationship with nature is essential to Native culture it is important that Indigenous Peoples have the tools to identify the life that surrounds them. When you give a feeling, emotion or a plant type a specific name, rather than place it under an umbrella term, it become something tangible, thus creating an importance to the proliferation of its life.”
IMAGE: (L-R) Julian Lang, Crystal Richardson, James Gensaw
HSU OhSnap! has an app! The HSU OhSNAP! Campus Food Program now has an app! Created by Ravin Craig Health Education Assistant, Coordinator of Peer Health Education, and Coordinator of the Oh SNAP Food Pantry - the app features include: • • • •
Notification when there is free food donations Quick check-in at the Pantry The ability to let the program now if you want to donate food (including catered items Free recipes and food tips
OhSNAP! Social Work interns this semester are: • Kimberly Wells (BASW) • Edgar Varga Vega (BASW) • Suzanne Garrett (MSW) HISTORY - When OhSNAP! began in 2013, 10 Social Work students and 2 Social Work faculty (Dr. Jen Maguire and Dr. Ronnie Swartz) launched the program. Social Work Faculty continue to contribute to the development of OhSNAP! Initially, the program offered CalFresh Outreach to students to connect them with CalFresh benefits. In fall of 2014, the Department of Social Work partnered with with Mira Friedman, Health Educator, and secured the program location - the Recreation and Wellness Center (RWC) 122 - to open a food pantry for students and continue outreach for CalFresh. Since then, OhSNAP! has expanded to include additional services such as cooking demos, gardening education, and the Farm Stand. Visit the OhSNAP WEBSITE to learn more. All students are welcome to use the pantry once a week, and students and non-students alike can come get help in applying for CalFresh. Get the app today at the Apple Store! To download the app use this link (it only works on smart phones and ipads): http://onelink.to/g4g4y6
Department of Social Work Talking Circle July 15, 2016 On July 15, 2016 the Department of Social Work hosted a Talking Circle at Consolidated Tribal Health Project in Redwood Valley. The Talking Circle provided an opportunity to meet with the staff of the HSU Social Work Department: Jamie Jensen Director of Distributed Learning Programs , Geneva Shaw - MSW Program Director, Yvonne Doble - Director of Field Education, and Phoebe Celitti - BASW Program Director. The Circle invited input and ideas on how to support projects and learning outcomes in the local communities of Lake and Mendocino County and offered opportunities to network, collaborate and give specific input to how HSU Social Work program can support the work currently in progress. The morning began with an opening prayer lead by Lorraine Laiwa followed by a field instructor training that gave needed information to agencies hosting our students including how to offer support in meeting the CSWE requirements of the internship placement. The second half of the day focused on outreach and education about our program and helped to build relationships between HSU and the tribes of Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma Counties (9 tribal leaders were present) to better inform our curriculum and ability to serve the Native community in that area. Trilby Kerrigan, DL MSW Class of 2017 and intern at the Indian Child and Family Preservation Program in Ukiah, was one of the events organizers. She explains: "It was really nice having the community engaged and participating in the processes and programing of the HSU Social Work Program. It was great to see all of the participants together and also to have the presentation facilitated by such a dynamic group of instructors. I loved the concept of actually speaking with the Tribal Leaders in the community to identify what it is they need from the program and what areas they are seeing a need for internship placements. It is a work in progress and a great way to have this program seen as a resource for the work that is already occurring in the community." Trilby is also currently employed for the Pinoleville Pomo Nation Vocational Rehabilitation Program in Ukiah CA, as the Interim Director.
Bachelors of Social Work Orientation August 22-23, 2016 The Department of Social Work Bachelors Orientation welcomed 58 students into our BASW Program. Students shared their personal stories with each other, learned about the Social Work Students Association, using a second language in the field, strategies for writing success and were introduced to Field Education, the signature pedagogy of Social Work education. Students were also introduced to technology and campus resources such as the Student Disability Resource Center, the Academic Info and Referral (AIR) Center, the Student Health Center, and Student Financial Services. We are so happy you are here to share your experience and knowledge!
IMAGES: (L-R) Natalie Bencomo/Taryn Borsch, Chisa Oros/Shay Masten/Desiree Sirca/Liana Whitely, Kelsey Bahena (SW student assistant)/Ken Smith (Lecturer & Project Coordinator: Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Project) This years California Indian Day Celebration at the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria took place in the New Recreation Center on Saturday, September 17th. The Department of Social Work at HSU tabled alongside Native American Vendors, Cultural Dance Demonstrations, United Indian Health Services, Bear River Band Social Services Department and many more. Did you know the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria offers: Healthy Family Classes, call 707.733.1900 for more information Food Service Programs Social Services The Bear River Band Library providing a cultural and resourceful environment for tribal members of all ages • Little Bears Learning Center • Economic Development • • • •
In preparation for this year's trip to the Yurok County Visitor's Center in Klamath, Ca and the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village, the SW 541 class: Social Work Practice in Native American Communities, viewed A River Between Us and these additional resource readings: • • • •
Yurok Tribe Culture Page "For Yurok, Salmon is Everything” "Salmon Feeds Our People” and "The Effects of Altered Diet on Health of the Karuk People".
The film, A River Between Us, documents the largest river restoration project in American history. Nearly three hundred miles in length, flowing from southern Oregon to northern California, the vast communities of the Klamath River have been feuding over its water for generations. The film examines the complicated history of this conflict and focuses on the personal stories of a group of individuals who finally chose to put the past behind them and come together to create a historic water rights compromise for the good of all.
Pam Bowers, HSU Department of Social Work Assistant Professor, was among the faculty that accompanied students to Ah Pah. She reflects: "The trip to Ah Pah was educational, peaceful, and inviting. Educational because we learned about how the Yurok people are renewing and revitalizing aspects of their cultural practices that, in some instances, have been laying dormant for varied periods of time as a result of colonization in recent history. Peaceful because we each connected in our own way to the traditional land in Ah Pah. And inviting because we were welcomed to celebrate local culture and be a part of decolonizing social work practice."
Geneva Shaw, Lecturer & MSW Director, who attended and prepared students for the trip explains: "The process of building relationships with the communities we serve, practicing cultural humility, and connecting to place cannot be isolated to the classroom. The experience of taking students to Ah-Pah and having them see, smell, and FEEL what we can only talk about in a classroom setting is an experience that they can take with them wherever their professional paths lead. My hope in providing this type of place-based experiential learning is that we are better preparing social work professionals to decolonize their social work practice with ALL peoples." Â Â Â
Congratulations to Laura Power & Larissa Krause for their contributions to the field of Children's Mental Health in Humboldt County! On September 30, 2016, Laura Power - HSU Department of Social Work Latino Community Outreach Coordinator/Lecturer, and Larissa Krause - Assistant Distributed Learning/Field Education Coordinator/Lecturer, were honored at the inaugural Children's Mental Health Summit for their exemplary contributions to the field of Children's Mental Health in Humboldt County.
The 0 to 8 Mental Health Collaborative and Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE) hosted the event at the HCOE Sequoia Conference Center. Open to all who have children or touch the lives of families and children (including caregivers, child care providers, teachers, counselors, after school program staff, etc.) the event featured speakers from both near and far to present their research and experience in the field of children’s mental health. Presentations included the sharing of innovative practices, partnerships and strategies to optimize mental health and overall development of young children, while emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration, cultural curiosity, and family-centered responsiveness.
IMAGES: (L-R) Dylan McClure, El Cerrito High School Students, Morgan Burris
Social Work Student Achievements Humboldt State University announces Social Work Student, Dylan McClure, as one of its Outstanding Students 2016-2017! Dylan McClure is a Social Work graduate student and an intern for the Health Education Department. Described as highly intelligent, open-minded, and a creative thinker, McClure is being recognized for his dedication to causes that are significant to the campus community’s health and well-being. An advocate for transgender rights and inclusivity, he created a comprehensive resource guide for trans and gender non-conforming students and worked with Information Technology Services to make institutional changes, which allows students to use a preferred name in HSU’s student registration software. Plus, he has been working with faculty to improve the use of appropriate language in regards to gender and gender identity for the campus-wide food and housing insecurity survey. READ MORE HERE
Jenn Rader, MSW 2016, featured alongside youth leaders from the Culture Keepers At El Cerrito High School a group of youth leaders trained in dynamic mindfulness and restorative practices are transforming the school's culture, reducing suspensions one breath at a time. Jenn Rader, MSW Class of 2016, is featured alongside youth leaders from the Culture Keepers. Read her bio below under Alumni Highlights! WATCH THE VIDEO
Humboldt State Social Work senior Morgan Burris has been given a California State University Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement HSU President Lisa Rossbacher recommended Morgan Burris for the California State University Trustee' Award this Fall. The award is given every year to one student from each CSU who demonstrates superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service, and financial need, and includes a $6,000 scholarship for the 2016-17 school year. Burris attended a ceremony with her family to accept the award from Chancellor Timothy Whiten in Long Beach on September 20th. Since surviving a car accident in 2010 which left her with a brain injury, Burris has focused on rehabilitating herself. This process has inspired her to get an education and commit to having a positive impact in the community. Four months after her accident, she began her education at College of the Redwoods. She is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Humboldt State, earning a 3.4 GPA as a full-time student while coping with memory loss, ongoing rehabilitation, and raising two children. She’s now interning at Making Headway, a center in Eureka that offers specialized programs to people who have brain injuries. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Burris plans on enrolling in the Social Work graduate program at HSU. READ MORE HERE
James Rockwell (MSW 2016), Greater Eureka Community Outreach Program (GECOP) Project Manager and Loren Stentzel, Project Case Manager with the Betty Chinn Day Center The small village of converted Connex shipping containers is proving to be a success in local efforts to address and manage homelessness. Located across from St. Vincent de Paul's Free Dining Facility, the Blue Angel Village is part of the Transitional Residence Program at the Betty Chinn Day Center designed to assist Humboldt's poorest and most vulnerable residents. The program participants are supported by a case manager as they work to improve aspects of their lives including: • Employment • Housing • Money Management - Participants are expected to follow a budget and monthly savings plan • Education • Health • Communication skills The shelter was started by a partnership between Betty Chinn of the Betty Kwan Chinn Homeless Foundation and the Humboldt Coalition for Property Rights. It uses retrofitted metal shipping containers as temporary housing. The village includes a lending library,
garden space, a community bulletin board with fliers for the village's support groups, chore list, and a notice reminding of the weekly community meeting held every Monday at 4pm during which residents talk about problems and successes, issues and ideas. Project Manager, James Rockwell (MSW) and the project's case manager, Loren Stentzel (MSW), work with county services to meet the needs of the residents. In a recent North Coast Journal article Rockell and Stentzel explained how the project has been a place where they can put their masters degrees in Social Work to work in an innovative program. "It's been phenomenal," Rockwell says, adding that the project has used trauma-informed principles to help people stabilize and take steps toward improving their lives. "It's a thriving community," says Loren Stentzel, the project's case manager. "We really turned this barren parking lot into a neighborhood." READ THE NCJ ARTICLE HERE
IMAGES: (L-R) James Rockwell, Loren Stentzel, Transitional Housing Village
Here is what one of our lecturers has been up to this semester...
Carolyn Perkins, Lecturer Teaching in the Social Work Department is truly one of my most amazing endeavors. Not only is it a pleasure to be surrounded by a faculty with such passion for their work, but I am also struck daily by how fortunate I am to be a part of the educational journey of the students in this program. The Social Work students at Humboldt State University are such a wonderfully diverse group of people who have come together because of a shared desire to make the world a place with less suffering. These individuals from such varied walks of life bring with them an enthusiasm and determination for change that is contagious. It is an honor to witness their evolution as Social Workers! Without hesitation I can say that my interactions with the students of this program also make me a better Social Worker. While I have taught … Social Work Methods - an undergraduate class where students have the opportunity to integrate their learning with actual hands on work in the area of individuals, families, therapeutic groups, larger systems and grass roots community Social Work. Social Welfare Policy & Services – a graduate course that addresses the integral tie between policy and practice, allowing students to examine not only the process of policy making, but also the intricacies of policy implementation. I am currently teaching … Human Behavior & the Social Environment – an undergraduate course that analyzes the various theoretical frameworks that assist us in better understanding the populations we serve. MSW Advanced Year Seminar – a graduate level distance learning course for students to address their hands on experiences during their internship placements at hospitals, tribal social services, schools, shelters, and other social services agencies within their communities of residence. When not in the classroom, I continue to work with children and families throughout Northern California who are involved with California’s foster care system. For the past fifteen years I have aided hundreds of children unable to reside with their birth parents in finding safe, loving and secure places to call home. This work entails navigating the complex issues within families, working with the framework of our current legal system, understanding the cultural implications of various decisions on families and communities, and dealing head on with some of life’s most difficult emotions. My particular area of interest is creating opportunities for children to find stability while enabling them to maintain continued connections to their history. This can take on many shapes such as ongoing relationship with their families, or ensuring that they continue to be engaged with their tribal customs, practices and way of life. I am a firm believer that children deserve to have as many loving people surrounding them as possible. Somewhere in all of this mix, I am also a mother, partner, daughter, little sister, soccer coach and lifelong learner. Hands down, I am most proud to be a mom. And I LOVE to brag about my kids. I assure you they are fantastic human beings who keep me on my toes, challenge me in ways that make me a better person, and continually amaze me with their ability to keep me laughing. I feel fortunate to work in a field and a Department that not only understands the importance of integrating our "real" lives and our work, but also supports this practice on a daily basis.
Jenn Rader lives in Berkeley with her wife, Barb, a Berkeley elementary school teacher, and her two boys, Ben and Elijah, a 9th grader and a senior at Berkeley High School. Jenn is the founder and director of the James Morehouse Project, the student health and wellness center at El Cerrito High School in West Contra Costa Unified School District. In 2014, the California School Based Health Alliance named Jenn practitioner of the year. Jenn writes: In 1988, I started my career as a public high school teacher; when a budget crisis prompted a mass lay-off in the (then named) Richmond Unified School District, I left the Bay Area in 1991 to work for two years with Mayan refugees in Southern Mexico as they organized for their return to Guatemala after a decade in refuge. Thinking I might pursue international social justice work, I came home and earned an MA in Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley. I ended up returning to high school teaching and became increasingly focused on the experience of young people who were not succeeding in school—young people up against challenges from the poverty and violence in their home neighborhoods of Richmond. Over the next 18 years, in partnership with fantastic colleagues, young people and community partners, we have built, funded and I continue to direct, a student wellness center, the James Morehouse Project (JMP) at El Cerrito High School. We provide direct services (medical, mental health and youth development) and also collaborate closely with school administrators to implement population level supports that include dynamic mindfulness in classrooms, restorative practices, as an alternative to punitive school discipline, and trauma sensitive training/ coaching for teachers. Our partners include Contra Costa County Health Services, UCB, CSUEB and SFSU Schools of Social Work and a range of local community based organizations.
Our commitment to Narrative Therapy as an organizing set of values and frame for our clinical work has allowed us to both create a space of transformative change for young people, and to drive larger culture change in our high school. Students labeled for 10 years or more in their school experience as “low performing,” “defiant,” “angry” or “disruptive” are invited to identify their own values and strengths and to begin to live their lives in ways that are consonant with who they want to be in the world. This can look like: students partnering with an MSW intern to do a school-wide research project on the impact of structural racism in the school community and then reporting back to faculty and administration what they learned, or students who have been involved in CPS leading a training for clinical interns on how to better support youth through the reporting process, or student “Culture Keepers” partnering with students struggling to keep it together in classes, mediating peer conflicts and leading classroom presentations for their peers on sexual harassment. In our SW 643 class on Community Organizing, I was riveted by a quote from Si Kahn (*see endnote), “One of the greatest skills an organizer can have is the ability to frame and ask questions in ways that make people want to answer them, but also think deeply, and in unexpected ways, about what the answers might be.” While Kahn was referencing organizing, this quote reflects our Narrative Therapy lens; the critical skill he underlines is the capacity to frame and ask questions— not to be the expert and the one who holds the answers, but to journey forward into the terrain of not knowing, of asking, listening, learning and being willing to accompany rather than lead. To do this well is an art form. It doesn’t mean that as an organizer/counselor you abdicate your capacity to influence—but it is a stance of profound respect for the innate wisdom and capacity of the people with whom you are working. Kahn’s insight connects with a larger spiritual commitment to know that each person we encounter is a Buddha or a Jesus already--there just might be layers of trauma obscuring that divine presence. Our spiritual work is to be able to see/ experience what's underneath the obscurations and connect with people in that deeper place. I don't think that means our brains fall out and we can’t see what folks are up against. I do think, from that recognition, we don't mistake what they are up against with their essence or nature, and that insight makes us infinitely better positioned to partner with young people around making change happen in their lives and in our communities. The JMP creates spaces that nourish the skills and capacities of young people on the margins. They are encouraged to vision, articulate and manifest the positive changes in their own lives. Too, we foreground young people’s insights and perspectives in our efforts to shift school culture in ways that speak to structural racism and the conditions that drive school failure for so many young people of color. In my application to HSU in 2012, I wrote, “I am specifically interested in HSU because I know the Department of Social Work has a deep commitment, not just to ‘serve’ people, but to partner with individuals and communities to create deep and lasting social change…It is my hope that I could both learn from and support a cohort of peers with a shared vision of social justice and social change.” Almost
6 months after graduating with my MSW (and PPSC!) I am grateful to my wonderful instructors and classmates who supported me and continue to inspire my ongoing journey as a social worker struggling, in partnership with so many others, to build beloved community and create meaningful change in our school building, and beyond. FOLLOW THIS LINK TO VIEW RECENT James Morehouse Project WORK * Kahn, S. (2010). Creative community organizing: A guide for rabble-rousers, activists, and quiet lovers of justice. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler