If anyone told me when I was a teenager that I would become a social worker, I probably would have wrinkled my nose. I thought it smacked of prudish do-goodism. Most Americans have a passing knowledge of Jane Addams, often considered America’s “first” social worker, and I did, too. But beyond that, I knew nothing.

Now, as a licensed clinical social worker, I am proud to be a part of an international group of people who make such a difference in the world. March is National Social Work Month, and our theme this year is social work paves the way for change. Given that, I thought I’d let people know what social workers do, and in particular, what they are doing in our community. As the our code of ethics states:

“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty. ... Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living.”

In other words, we are your frontline folk. We don’t flinch from disaster – we run toward it.

So where do we lurk in Durango? A large body of us work either in private practice or in agencies to perform mental-health counseling or case management. According to www.beasocialworker.org, “professional social workers are the nation’s largest group of clinically trained mental-health specialists. They provide more mental health services than psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse combined.” Others clusters of social workers can be found in the basement of the courthouse or in a tucked-away outpost behind the rec center, working to better child welfare in the county. If you have been through tragedy at Mercy Hospital, it was likely a social worker who helped you through it. We roost in your schools, helping your kids. The nonprofit arena is full of us – Alternative Horizons, Sexual Assault Services Organization, Community Connections – you name it. Our justice system, even, has lots of us – in probation, Drug Court, Behavioral Health Court, La Plata Youth Services. A dynamite career combo pack, in fact, is a dual degree in law and social work.

Social workers’ professional education provides the skills and knowledge to practice in many areas. In addition to the clinical-counseling arena, social workers are trained to work with community and political systems, as well as in international social work. One of Jared Laughtner’s other victims when he shot Arizona’s Rep. Gabby Gifford was her aide, a social worker. In our community, the La Plata County Thrive! Living Wage Coalition is energized by social workers. The Community Relations Council, which informs the City Council on matters of diversity and social harmony, is likewise fueled by local social work fire.

Social work is fortunate to have its own professional organization, which is celebrating its 60- year anniversary: The National Association of Social Workers. NASW is made up of 132,000 members throughout the U.S. and its territories. Thanks to the NASW and its advocacy efforts, insurance companies pay social workers better than other credentialed mental-health professionals. The Veteran’s Administration hires more of us. NASW Colorado lobbies fiercely on the floor of the state Legislature for laws that befit our ethics and mission.

I am currently the Four Corners’ NASW representative for the Colorado Chapter. Wanda Ellingson, a past winner of a Colorado Social Worker of the Year award, is on the national board, representing (gasp!) 11 states from Alaska on down the Western interior. Wanda also directs the University of Denver’s Master of Social Work program, serving students from rural and tribal communities in the Four Corners. This program has been largely responsible for developing trained people in our community. Without it, local talent and understanding of the nuances involved with helping people in our area would be grossly lacking.

At a recent get-together, local NASW members identified areas of concern in our community. These included: how to improve access to mental health services for Medicaid recipients; the treatment of homeless populations; the monitoring of racism and other oppressions; and the needs of Child Protection workers to investigate cases (part of a statewide crisis in which a recent audit decreed the state needed to hire hundreds of child protection workers in order to do an adequate job). We love our community, and while it does well in so many areas, we are always asking where it can do better.

So, next time you or a loved one need a crisis hotline, services at school or want to know what is going on with anything from minimum wage to food security in the Four Corners, know that in the mix somewhere is at least one and probably several social workers. Paving the way for change, Jane Addams spirit is alive and well in the Four Corners.

Kate Niles is the Four Corners branch representative for the Colorado Chapter of NASW and a clinical social worker in private practice in Durango. She can be reached at kate@riversagecounseling.com.