Proclamation: National Social Work Month 2023
This March, social workers will be able to gather in person to celebrate the profession. For most of us, these events will be the first time together since 2020.
It’s been a grueling three years resulting in compounding consequences on the lives of the communities and families we work with as well as our own lives.
Coming out of the global pandemic, social workers are more essential than ever.
Essential to hearing the hardships, pain and sufferings of individuals and communities.
Essential to navigating systems such as those in criminal justice, health, education, and employment.
Essential to advocacy that includes centering and prioritizing diversity, anti-racism, and other forms of oppression and marginalization.
We know that we have each other’s support to navigate the uncertainties that lay ahead while individually and collectively work towards a just and equitable recovery. Being united by diversity and strengthened by our goals for inclusion, allyship, and power-sharing, we will focus on the future where dedicated social workers continue to have an extraordinary impact on people and on this country.
As organizations with the honour of representing and regulating social workers in Canada, nationally and internationally, we continue to promote and support ethical and competent social work practice in the interest of the public, particularly in these ever-challenging moments of crisis and uncertainty.
Every day, social workers support people in navigating complex systems. We are uniquely positioned to identify and address systemic gaps, provide key services and programs, and strengthen communities to what they need, all while applying our skills to build a more just world.
We support. We mobilize. We advocate. We are accountable. We are Social Workers.
Joan Davis-Whelan, MSW, RSW
President, Canadian Association of Social Workers
Jason Albert, PhD
Interim President, CASWE – ACFTS
Siu Ming Kwok, PhD
President, Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators
