SOCIAL WORK VALUES IN ACTION discussion include a job fair in East Athens and a virtual summer education program. The school’s relationship with the EADC helped when businesses began closing due to the pandemic. After brainstorming with board members and Fred Smith, the EADC’s executive director, LaRoche helped to set up an emergency relief fund on the organization’s website and raised awareness of the fund’s existence. LaRoche went on to connect the EADC with the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Athens Area Community Foundation. The latter brought in additional support from the Northeast Georgia Food Bank’s mobile pantry. Corporate sponsors such as Lowe’s added to the pot. Smith also reached out to Community Connection Neighborhood Leaders, which assisted with food distribution and in reaching the elderly and others who, with the closure of public libraries, lacked essential access to the internet. “COVID-19 only exacerbated what we struggle with all the time, in dealing with people who are
often living on the edge,” said Dr. Diane Dunston, chair of the EADC board. “And of course with this pandemic it has been the most vulnerable who suffer the most.” The assistance is critical, said Dunston, not just from a physical but also a psychological standpoint. “Number one it gives people hope. It has been very meaningful for the community to see that people care,” she said. For LaRoche, who sees social workers’ roles as that of facilitators, hope springs from the community itself. “We identify ways to get more resources in time of crisis, and help coordinate. What I’m loving is that there are a lot more organizations coming together,” he said. “The people you see here are the ones making a difference.”
Notes From Above Ground (A Response to COVID-19 and the George Floyd Murder) Breath is a gift. Social justice is imperative. Empathy is a key to our well-being. Respect for differences is necessary. Religious tolerance is essential. History is important. Learning from history is even more important. The world is interconnected – the land, the water, the air, the plants, and every living creature. If the world is to survive climate change, pandemics, and prejudices, all people of the world must work together to save our planet.
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by James Preston MSW ’92
