Friday, September 13, 2013

A Helpful List for People Working on a Masters Degree on Social Work


Are you working on a Masters degree in Social Work (MSW)? An organization called MSWOnlinePrograms.org urges you to consider 99 organizations that address hunger and poverty in one form or another.  There are some familiar names on the list, including national groups like Bread for the World, Oxfam America, Mazon, RESULTS, Feeding America, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the End Hunger Network (the group that Jeff Bridges helped to found) and many others. 

There are also many regional organizations, including some familiar names like Hunger Free Colorado and Santa Fe-based Farm to Table.

Here is what the organization tells visitors to the site:
Alleviating poverty is one of the core missions of the social work profession, and one of the major difficulties that often goes along with poverty is hunger. Families who lose financial stability often have a hard time getting enough to eat, and the process for getting food stamps or other government assistance can be arduous. Food banks play a huge part in making sure that families affected by poverty, especially those with children, can get what they need. Any social worker with clients affected by poverty may need to help their clients get connected with local food banks and organizations that provide nutritional and monetary assistance. Additionally, many social workers are employed at, or collaborate with, groups that advocate on behalf of those in poverty to help them get food, shelter, and equitable legal treatment.

Here is the full list . (The organization points out that this is not a ranked list, but an acknowledgment of organizations that are doing good work, and a resource for social workers, or social work students, who want to make alleviating poverty and hunger a central mission in their social work careers).

No comments: