I am trying not to be fatalistic, but I am concerned about the future of the career I have chosen.

The current presidential administration is in an all out war against the values of social work. How do we advocate for equity and justice when the words we use to bring attention to these issues have been banned? How do address systemic issues when we cannot point out the discrimination, prejudice, and injustice of them?

I am certain that we will find a way, but right now it seems hard to see how.

My path to this profession has been long. I spent a couple decades devoting myself to raising a family. During those years I began to imagine a world where pregnant and birthing people, lactating parents, parents with young children, and those with older children would be supported by their community. Much of the support I imagined has been commodified and turned into a product that only those with adequate financial means can take advantage of. That is one of the awful parts of capitalism. Where we should just BE a community that provides necessary help, support, and encouragement that is drawn from the experience of our elders and peers, we have created products and services. To borrow from Tricia Hersey’s words in Rest is Resistance, we have lost sight of the divinity in each other and ourselves and have no reverence for it and the care in needs and deserves just because we ARE.

When I think of the part I would like to play in the world via social work I wish it could be just something I do, without having to worry about a paycheck. I have been working a full-time internship. I do not get paid, but I do not feel resentful, I feel full of purpose. The people I have worked with are wonderful and those we serve just as much so. I want to be a part of helping them along their path just for the pleasure of seeing them prosper. I never want the work I do to just be a means to make money. I want to do it because it has value to those I serve or interact with. I do not want them to struggle or hunger, and I don’t want have to do that in order to help.

I am not a Christian, but I still like the idea of humanity being a body, everyone having a place and a purpose, and even when the singular parts are not ‘doing’ anything, they are still valued. I am romanticizing a bit, but I do believe that if everyone was nurtured properly and encouraged to explore their interests and strengths, we would find that life could be a beautiful community project where everyone had their needs met.

Just a dream, but I want to keep dreaming it because I want there to be a future where all I have done, learned, and worked for to become a social worker and human will have a place.