Aug. 16, 2024
National Conference Offers Professional Insights, Networking, Celebrations
By Paul R. Pace and Laetitia Clayton
NASW’s 2024 national conference — “Social Work: Leading Social Change” — provided participants with the latest insights from leaders in the profession about issues that impact social work, including suicide prevention, climate change, addiction, racism, domestic violence and gender-affirming care.
Attendees also had opportunities to network with peers and hear stories about the ways social workers are leading the charge in social change. Approximately 1,500 people attended in person in Washington, D.C., and about 900 people took part virtually.
The four-day conference, which began on June 19, included a Juneteenth celebration with performances by jazz vocalist Hannah Carter and Cirque Zuma Zuma. NASW President Yvonne Chase explained in her opening remarks that enslaved individuals in Texas did not learn that President Abraham Lincoln had passed the Emancipation Proclamation for more than two years after it occurred.
A year after they learned they were free, these formerly enslaved individuals in Texas began celebrating Juneteenth, Chase explained. As they and their descendants began to migrate to other parts of the country, the Juneteenth celebration spread as well. Juneteenth was finally recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.
“It’s important for NASW to recognize the legacy of Juneteenth and to keep the social work profession focused on achieving equality and eliminating hate,” Chase said.
Keynote: Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
Glaude gave a keynote presentation titled “Building a Better World” to close Day One of the conference. Glaude, an author and Princeton University professor, referenced the works and philosophies of civil rights and human rights activist Ella Baker and civil rights activist and author James Baldwin.
Glaude talked about the country’s racism, hatred, human rights attacks, and deep political division, but he also offered hope and suggestions for moving forward. Like Baker, he said, “People cannot look for salvation anywhere but themselves.”
He said it seems as if some people in America are willing to throw away democracy as they cling to their racism.
“Hubris clogs the nation’s throat,” he said. “Hatred gums things up. It gums us up.”
Glaude said everyone should be accorded dignity and standing, and we should “imagine justice in a self-cultivating spirit.”
“We don’t need prophets or heroes, he said. “You are the prophets and heroes.”
Keynote: Patrick J. Kennedy
A keynote presentation by former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of The Kennedy Forum and author of “Profiles in Mental Health Courage,” was a highlight of the conference’s second day. In introducing Kennedy, NASW CEO Anthony Estreet called him a “mental health warrior.”
From 1995-2011, Kennedy served as a Democratic member of the U.S House of Representatives from Rhode Island. He was the lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which passed into law in 2008.
“No one else wanted to lead this charge when I was in Congress,” Kennedy said. “No one wanted to be associated with the bill.”
His own publicized dealings with addiction gave him no choice but to get involved, he said. In 1991, during his second term as a state representative in Rhode Island, Kennedy said he woke up one morning to discover his picture on the cover of the National Enquirer. The headline read, “Being Patrick Kennedy’s roommate in drug rehab.”
This was at a time when such headlines could equal an end to a career, he said.
“When I came to Washington, D.C., I could sign on to the parity bill because my stuff was no longer a secret,” Kennedy said.
He routinely sought treatment for his addictions, he said, and it took him a while to understand that addictions are chronic illnesses. As his illness progressed, Kennedy said he realized he had to leave Congress. “It just kept getting worse and worse. ... I decided to retire before I got thrown out.”
Even after he left, he said, political leaders would seek his help for members of Congress who were struggling with addiction. Kennedy said this is a perfect example of how “every single family in America knows what it is like to try and help someone that they love when they are confronted with these illnesses of addiction and mental illness, and they don’t know what to do. These illnesses don’t just affect the person, they affect the whole family.”
Kennedy urged the creation of a public health model that screens people early, integrates care, and provides wraparound services to treat people before they become ill. “We as a country do not understand prevention” and a public health model, he said.
Kennedy believes there should be a mental health and addictions czar, whose strategic plan ensures the right amount of day care, housing vouchers, human services, medication assistance, and medical care for citizens.
Breakout Session: LGBTQIA+ Competency
When members of the LGBTQIA+ community seek assistance from a social worker, it is important that their identity is welcome and considered a valued part of how the person sees the world, said Rochelle Turner, MSW, LMSW, LCDC, program manager at Prism Health North Texas.
Turner was a presenter for the breakout session “Increasing Cultural Competence through Affirmative Practice for the LGBTQIA+ Community.”
In Texas, lawmakers pursued dozens of bills in 2023, banning puberty blockers—a hormone therapy for trans youth—restricting the sports trans athletes can play, and expanding the definition of sexual misconduct to include drag shows, Turner said.
Texas has become one of the most hostile places for transgender youth and adults in America, she said. We know oppression for this community is historic.
Before these restrictive laws, a survey revealed that 70% of transgender and gender nonconforming respondents said they faced some sort of barriers to care, she said. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they experienced discrimination in health care.
Also presenting was Raymond Castilleja, MSW, MBA, LCSW-S, owner and psychotherapist of Fuel 4 Mind Psychotherapy Services, which supports gay individuals and couples through personalized psychotherapy to address anxiety, depression, relationship concerns, substance abuse, and trauma.
Castilleja said LGBTQIA+ adults are twice as likely as heterosexual adults to experience a mental health condition. Affirmative practice is an overarching framework of clinical practice that promotes positive self-regard and resilience, and addresses the impact of discrimination for LGBTQIA+ clients, he said.
It’s not our job to tell people who they should be, Castilleja said. “We need to understand who we are working with. The person in environment needs to be considered. It’s also an individual journey for when a person wants to come out to others.”
Other keynote presenters were U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who also received the NASW Foundation Knee/Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award; and social worker, author and community activist Maryum Ali.
In addition to the keynote presentations, the conference offered plenary and breakout sessions, an exhibit hall, poster presentations, a film festival and several networking events. Recipients of the NASW and NASW Foundation awards were honored throughout the conference. Learn more about the awards at socialworkers.org/Events/NASW-and-NASW-Foundation-Awards.
Next year’s national conference will be held in Chicago. Look for more information coming soon at socialworkers.org/Events/NASW-Conferences