5 minute read
Celebrating our community
We are proud and gratified to recognize the contributions of social workers in our province every year! We gathered this fall to honour our award winning social workers and committed community allies, as well as our amazing volunteers, committee chairs, and all of the dedicated social workers in Nova Scotia who contribute to our profession and enable us to advance our mission.
Our guest speaker at this year’s virtual awards gala was Robert Wright, RSW, who spoke passionately about embracing the dynamic tension between professionalism and activism.
CASW Distinguished Service Award: Jim Morton
Jim Morton
Jim Morton has been contributing to service delivery in the public and private sectors as a clinician, administrator and consultant for almost five decades. Those who know him soon learn of his commitment to the idea that no individual human being can be understood apart from their connections to family and community and that the world’s abundance must be shared fairly amongst all of us.
Jim is deeply grateful for his membership in the social work community and for the guidance, support, collegiality and friendships he has been privileged to enjoy since joining the Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers in 1975.
Three priorities guide Jim’s life: family (his own and family systems theory); literature (what would life be like without Middlemarch, Under the Net or My Antonia?); and politics, where canvassing a neighbourhood, making a fundraising call or organizing an NDP election campaign are his effort to build social work values and an end to poverty into legislation. The words of J.S. Woodsworth’s (one of the first social work educators in Canada) inspire Jim’s thinking about our profession and politics:
Ronald Stratford Memorial Award: Ryan Gould
Ryan Gould
Ryan Gould is Mi’kmaq, and was born and raised in Membertou, NS. He is the 38-year-old father of six beautiful daughters. I have my best friend, and an amazing woman by my side Samantha Smith. A journeyman plumber for 11 years, Ryan is an accomplished tradesperson and business owner, and serves as the apprenticeship coordinator for the Mi’kmaq Economic Benefits Office in Membertou.
Ryan is also the co-founder and president of the Membertou Men’s Society (MMS), a non-profit organization aimed to raise awareness, provide loving support, and reduce barriers to services, for Indigenous and nonIndigenous men of all ages who may be struggling with mental health or addiction challenges. It is in that capacity that we met Ryan, as he spoke at our inaugural Advocacy Day in March 2022.
Proud and grateful to be five years sober from cocaine and alcohol, Ryan now volunteers and serve on the board of directors for many amazing local charities, including Three Brothers Project, Worth Living, The Breton Ability Centre, Canadian Mental Health Association, Roots of Hope, PC Party Diverse Communities Committee, and Membertou Inter-agency Committee.
David William Connors Memorial Award: Alexandra Earle-Lambert, RSW
Alexandra Earle-Lambert
Alexandra tells us that she became a social worker largely by accident. After completing an undergraduate degree in English and philosophy and a graduate degree in philosophy, she then realized there were very few jobs that enabled or encouraged people to think and argue about ethics and the human condition. At that point she was encouraged to apply to the Dalhousie School of Social Work, and completed an MSW.
Since then, she has been a clinical social worker for the child and adolescent mental health team on the south shore. Both in the public system and in her private practice, Alex has worked with and learned from colleagues in multiple disciplines, particularly about the context of people’s lived experiences and how these affect their involvement with the services provided by mental health practitioners and as social workers.
Alex considers herself incredibly privileged and humbled to spend her days holding space for the experiences of individuals, and being able to play even a small role in improving the lives of children and their families. She believes that people are doing the best they can with what they have; witnessing their desire and hope to overcome adversity continues to drive her.
Social Justice Ally Award: Tristan Kowal
Tristan Kowal
This award recognizes a member of our community – specifically someone who is not a social worker – who has used their position or social standing to advocate for the role of social workers in serving the public good, and who advances our ethical mandate to work toward the establishment of equity and social justice. We are grateful that Tristan was able to join us as a panelist for our inaugural Advocacy Day in March, and again during our conference in May.
Tristan engages in research and advocacy for first voice led (emic) approaches to social systems change. Some common themes are housing, youth services, and accessibility. His “work” builds on his experiences with mental illnesses, addictions, and homelessness, through the lens of his identities as an autistic, disabled, and queer person.
Tristan is also in the fourth year of therapeutic recreation at Dalhousie, which has helped him to more effectively communicate with service providers both professionally and as a client. Tristan shared with us that he is grateful for the opportunities to advocate for meaningful inclusion of people the systems were built to exclude. He is aware of his privilege as a white settler student and trans man, and uses it to amplify marginalized voices into leadership positions.
