STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS The 2016-2017 S.T.A.R.T fundraiser series spearheaded by the groups former President Sage Lucas in collaboration with Centerboards then clinical intern, and former S.T.A.R.T Vice President Dominique Grasso project developer and coordinator raised $565.00 dollars for the Centerboard 2017 Vision Space “Life” Event. The day was broken into three parts: education, employment, and wellness; with presentations from Dress for Success, Lynn Police, and a panel of motivational speakers on the topic of “Living with a Mental Health Condition”. In conclusion, all attendees parted from the “Life” event with a self-care bag in-hand containing reproductive health materials, day planners, a crisis hotline list, and a referral to dress for success. Thanks to the S.T.A.R.T 2016-2017 E-board and the SSU community, this project was 90 percent funded by donations.
ACCOLADES FOR OUR ALUMNI One of the final assignments in the Agency Practice class is a group grant writing assignment. For many, this is an academic exercise that must be completed as part of their MSW program. Some of our students, however, recognize the real-life applicability of this assignment. Last spring, Angela Taylor ’17, Carolyn Kaulbach ’17, Sheldon LeBlanc ’17, and Delilah Green ’17 wrote a proposal to purchase recliners for Day Rehabilitation. Not only did this satisfy the course requirement—they shared their work with the Charles River Center, the organization they had in mind when they wrote the grant assignment. As a result, a large part of their proposal was submitted by the Charles River Center to Bob’s Furniture and was awarded the $2500.00 requested! Kudos to Angela, Carolyn, Sheldon, and Delilah!
This past April, SSU SSW alumni and students volunteered at “Safety Day” for the North Shore Center for Hoarding and Cluttering at North Shore Elder Services. Per an article in Patch (follow link below for full article), “Safety Day” is a term to describe a modified clean-out of a hoarded home. It is deemed a more appropriate and less anxietyprovoking term for the client than the term “cleanout”.This Safety Day was organized by Melissa Moore as her MSW macro project. patch.com/massachusetts/ danvers/safety-day-successfully-tackles-hoarding Included in the photo are: Melissa Moore ’17, Julie Parks ’18, Fabia Faria ‘16, Karen Sullivan ’16, Michele Martindale ’12, Miriam Greenburg ’13, and Marnie Matthews ’13. On September 11, 2017, a group of Salem State School of Social Work students, alumni, faculty and staff gathered for an open forum entitled “How colorblindness hurts: Having conversations with clients and colleagues about racial justice after Charlottesville.” The group reflected on how the notion of being “colorblind,” and “not seeing race” can be hurtful to people, and actually harmful in the client-provider relationship. The forum was organized by MSW alumni Kate Rozenkranz ’15, Brittany Orlandi ’16, and associate professor Elspeth Slayter. Look out for future conversations on this topic! Since graduating from SSU in 2016 with his BSW, Shane Nardi-Williams, MSW, LCSW entered the MSW advanced standing program at BC. He received the Matthew L. Pispia award for his contribution to the field of social work, specifically in the Children, Youth, and Families concentration. Shane interned at Riverside Lifeskills, a day treatment group therapy program for high risk adolescent youth. He was also an intern at Beacon High School, a coeducational therapeutic high school for students with mental health, social, and emotional challenges. Shane was offered and accepted a full-time position as one of the School Clinicians at Beacon High School. In June, he sat for and passed his LCSW exam. Shane recently reached out to the School of Social Work to thank them for them for the opportunities and training that he was able to receive and for being a part of his journey.