OP/ED
Should We Be Taking
it To The Streets?
Social Work:
Change is Our Business
Social Work: Change is Our Business
by Michael Gilman
March is one of those months we meet with mixed emotions. We’re waiting with much anticipation for the official arrival of spring, warm weather, brighter and longer days, yet we’re often met with the threat of another snowstorm, the evolution of our dirt roads into mud bogs, and the presence of gray, rainy days.
Despite all of this, what we Vermonters love most is the tradition of spring – and better yet, the tradition of talking about it.
Well, there’s another tradition that’s got us celebrating a whole lot more than the arrival of the crocuse; that’s the arrival of civil union for same-gendered couples in our state.
The passage of the civil union bill by the House of Representatives is an amazing accomplishment in the fight for gay men and lesbians in our state to marry. I know the fight is not over, but taking a moment to celebrate is always helpful in keeping our spirits strong and our energy focused. How exciting to be a part of a state that is at the forefront of creating such monumental change.
As I listened to the debate during the House session this week, a friend and I commented on how wonderful it is that the Vermont State Legislature was even having this conversation. As social workers, we know that the process we go through to create change is often more important than the outcome. I believe that this process has positively changed many people. I know that it has changed me.
March is also the month that the profession of social work is honored. As executive director of the Vermont Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers it is such an honor to combine celebration of social work with accomplishments made toward gay marriage. To recognize the hard work and dedication put into these accomplishments, NASW Vermont, honored the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force and its many volunteers as the Social Agency of the Year at its Annual Meeting on March 10, 2000. Honoring the Task Force seems extraordinarily fitting with this year’s theme for Social Work Month 2000: Change is Our Business.
The Vermont Chapter of NASW is a non-profit organization representing over 460 social workers across the state. A core part of our mission is to promote and respect social justice, self-determination, human rights, diversity, and interdependence. Our membership is comprised of social workers with bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in social work.
Their practice cuts across a wide variety of settings including family services, community mental health, child welfare, private practice, schools, hospitals, businesses, nursing homes, courts, prisons and public and private agencies. In these settings, social workers address issues as varied as substance abuse, family conflicts, workplace tensions, health problems, disabilities, mental illness, inadequate housing, poverty, violence, social injustice and prejudice.
Professional social workers are the nation’s largest group of mental health providers. NASW members pledge to uphold a strict code of ethics, which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and encourages social workers to act to expand access, choices, and opportunities for minorities, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered individuals.
Hetrick & Martin (1987) write that the “daily need to hide an important aspect of personal and social identity operates as a corrosive denial of self-respect and self-worth.”
The social stigma attached to the relationships of homosexuals by the dominant society can lead to personal inferiority and self-hatred. NASW believes government measures that foreclose opportunities for political and legal participation, as in the intent of numerous antigay initiatives, foster such stigma. NASW policy strongly states: “discrimination and prejudice directed against any group is damaging to the social, emotional, and economic well-being of the affected group and of society as a whole.”
For far too long, coming out of the closet to accept and embrace your sexual orientation as a gay man or lesbian meant you also accepted losing some of your dreams and hopes of being like everyone else. Certainly, the thought of being able to marry your partner seemed to be a distant and even non-existent possibility. Today, those dreams and hopes are coming back to life, as the issue of gay marriage is actively debated in our state.
The Vermont Chapter of NASW believes that the work of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force is absolutely vital to achieving equal civil and human rights for all Vermonters. The social worker’s code of ethics includes a pledge to “enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people” and we are expected to “act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group or sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability.” The Vermont Chapter of NASW is grateful for the commitment and dedication the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force has demonstrated in its effort to end discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Their work is truly in keeping with our values, our commitments and our ethics.