Gisel Arriaga Barrios
Silas Ortiz
James Rawson
Encouraging social workers and their clients to vote is part of the NASW Code of Ethics, say NASW chapter leaders.
“Voting is a key part of how our democracy functions,” says NASW Ohio Chapter Executive Director Danielle Smith. “It’s essential to social justice. Social justice is a core value of social work practice. It’s a moral and ethical duty for social workers that people have access to voting in a fair way. Helping clients access that is important.”
Ohio is one of five states where NASW has hired PACE (Political Action for Candidate Election) field organizers for this year’s general election. The other states are Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“The field organizer program allows NASW-PACE to reach NASW members in key states to help them register, get involved in campaigns, and vote,” says Dina Kastner, public policy and advocacy manager at NASW national. “It is critical that social workers are active in elections that will determine the fate of our profession and the clients that we serve.”
In Ohio, the PACE field organizer is Silas Ortiz, who has been working with the chapter on federal campaigns, coordinating webinars on voting rights, emailing members in key districts and more.
“It’s been a big help to our little staff in Ohio to have someone really focused on this election,” said Smith.
“I love organizing and connecting with people,” Ortiz noted. “There is a lot of joy in empowering others and helping them harness their political power.”
Having chapter field organizers is important, “because as social workers we know how policy can affect the vast majority of our clients and directly affect our practice,” Ortiz said. “If we want to be at the table for those policy discussions, then we must be involved in politics and elections.”
In the battleground state of Nevada, Gisel Arriaga Barrios, is the PACE field organizer.
“I know how crucial it is during this election cycle for everyone who has the opportunity to vote, to vote,” she said. “This means researching candidates that align with your values, understanding what ballot initiatives you'll be voting on, and of course sharing these resources with your community so they can be informed, too.”
“Being a field organizer is how I can show and share my appreciation for my community by providing resources, doing outreach, and overall educating social workers on the importance of being politically involved,” Barrios said.
The Michigan PACE field organizer is James Rawson, MSW. He said he was inspired to be a field organizer because he witnessed voter apathy among his social work peers.
“During my undergraduate and graduate programs, when political topics were brought up the conversations tended to be negative,” Rawson explained. “Each social work student had a disconnect between politics and social work. My hope is to bring positive light on political social work.”
Some of the activities the Michigan Chapter has planned include voter registration presentations. “Our approach to this presentation is to be nonpartisan and to remind our peers that your voice needs to be included in this election,” Rawson said.
Learn more at www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/PACE