MICHIGAN SOCIAL WORK
RESPONDS TO
COVID-19
In the face of a pandemic, the eyes of the world turn to epidemiologists and public health experts. Social workers also have a crucial role in this crisis: we provide guidance in implementing health recommendations to create a better, safer society. We are educators and advisors, we create policy and develop solutions, and we step up and speak out for the common good. Michigan Social Work is rising to this challenge by reaching out and supporting our communities. Our faculty, students, researchers and staff have responded to the crisis with a combination of knowledge, tech-savvy and empathy to create innovative and impactful solutions. A team that includes Joint PhD student Sara Stein has created MI Frontline Support, a mental health initiative to help frontline workers in Michigan get easy-to-access support from clinicians. “The mental health of our doctors, nurses, delivery personnel, grocery clerks, gas station attendants and other essential workers is paramount now more than ever,” says Stein. “I feel it’s our responsibility, as social workers and psychologists, to ensure that frontline workers who are supporting all of us during this pandemic can access the mental health care they need.”
The recent COVID-19 stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump includes $1,200 cash stimulus payments to individual Americans. Some citizens, however, may have trouble accessing their money because they do
26 · University of Michigan School of Social Work
