Strong Social Safety Net Essential to Katrina Recovery Effort

Social workers urge policy makers to rebuild social services system in wake of Katrina

WASHINGTON - Hurricane Katrina exposed the reality of many urban and rural areas - extreme poverty, marginalized ethnic groups, and inadequate social services for the most vulnerable, including people who are elderly, disabled, and living in poverty.

The National Association of Social Workers is calling on the president and other national policy makers to provide expanded social services – including mental health services, income supports and job training, school social work services, and health care – for Katrina survivors displaced across the U.S.

In a September 16 letter to President Bush, NASW President Elvira Craig de Silva, DSW, ACSW, said “Rebuilding the social services infrastructure is essential to the overall hurricane recovery effort. NASW and the half million social work professionals it represents are completely committed to helping restore dignity to the people and communities affected by this tragedy.”

Right now there is an overwhelming loss of community, family and civic infrastructure in the Gulf Coast . To ensure full recovery for everyone affected, both private and public funds must be invested into existing and revamped social service systems in Louisiana , Alabama and Mississippi , as well as in communities that are assisting evacuees.

“Effective disaster recovery is a marathon, not a sprint,” adds Craig de Silva. “It will not be sufficient to provide funds for shelters and other services during the crisis, only to have these needs scaled back in several months. Individuals and families of all socioeconomic backgrounds will need assistance for a long time.”

Mark Rank, professor of social welfare at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, recently authored One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. In it Rank notes that most Americans, at some point in their lives, will experience poverty and need to use a social safety net program.

He says that significant life changes, such as the loss of a job, serious illness, the death of a family member, or other catastrophic event will require most of us to seek outside assistance. Large-scale tragedies, such as Hurricane Katrina, have a devastating impact on thousands of lives at one time, and underscore the critical need for established social services in every community.

For more information about social workers involved in the Katrina relief effort, or to speak with Mark Rank, please contact NASW Communications at 202-336-8228 or media@naswdc.org.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.