Learning from Columbine, 10 Years Later
from USA Today
 The teenage gunman pumped three bullets into Val Schnurr's chest, abdomen and arm during the 45-minute rampage at the suburban Colorado high school. Schnurr left the hospital six days later. Ten years later, Schnurr's physical recovery is complete. She's a social worker for abused and neglected children; she skis and hikes and has a great boyfriend. Yet emotionally, Schnurr says, she is still trying to heal. More
Remembrances...
from The Chicago Tribune
 This week commemorates several events in recent U.S. history, as well as world history. Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. In conjunction with this year's Remembrance Day, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center was opened, with over 12,000 people attending the opening ceremony in Skokie, Ill. More
Supervised Visitation Centers: A Safe Haven for Children and Mothers Amid Threats of Violence
from The Chicago Tribune
For Michael Connolly's two young sons and their mother, the McLean County Family Visitation Center was a safe haven, a place where the boys could meet their erratic father under the watchful eyes of clinical social workers. Connolly was prohibited from removing his sons from the facility in Bloomington, Ill. Carefully, staggered arrival and departure times prevented him from crossing paths with the children's mother, who secured a protective order against him after he threatened to "cut her open" and commit suicide. More
Making a Little Go a Long Way
from Chicago Sun-Times
One in every 10 Americans today is on food stamps, putting the total at a record 32.2 million people. Enrollment in the government's anti-hunger program rose in 46 of the 50 states during January. This month, recipients got a boost in benefits. The maximum monthly amount a person could receive increased by 13.6 percent, allowing a family of four a total of $668 in benefits. More
Poor Health Prior to Combat Linked to Later PTSD
from Reuters
Post-traumatic stress disorder after deployment is more likely to affect soldiers who have relatively poor physical or mental health before they enter combat situations, according to findings from the U.S. military's Millennium Cohort Study. The research included 5410 military personnel who completed a health survey before and after deployment to combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. More
Honored Social Worker Feels 'Really Lucky'
from Rockford Register Star
The only bilingual social worker at Belvidere School District in Belvidere, Ill., was honored at a surprise reception at Lincoln Elementary School. Teachers, staff, family and district officials gathered at the school to recognize Lillian Lenis, who was selected as the 2009 Outstanding New Social Worker by the University of Illinois, School of Social Work Alumni Association. More
Public Health Officials Turn to Online Networking to Reduce Sexually Transmitted Diseases
from The Associated Press via The Chicago Tribune
As life moves to the Internet, a growing number of public health agencies are signing on to social networking sites — not to find friends but to fight syphilis, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Public agencies in Ohio are among the latest to open accounts on online meeting sites in an effort to reach people who may have a sexually transmitted disease and need medical care. More
NASW 2009 Election
Online voting for the NASW 2009 national elections is available at https://www.intelliscaninc.com/nasw2009.htm
To access their ballots, members will need their membership ID. Candidates’ profiles and an official copy of the ballot were printed in the April issue of the NASW News (center spread) for those who choose to mail in their vote. Please note that, individual member mailings of election materials will not be sent out this year.
The deadline for voting is May 22. Online voters must register their votes no later than 8:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. CT, 6:30 p.m. MT, 5:30 p.m. PT. Please help us get the word out to members.
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Day-to-Day Struggle
from The Chicago Tribune
The housing bust and a tight economy have taken a heavy toll on day laborers. Hard times have hit the once-thriving day-labor across the Chicago-area, where men trade their work for cash, no questions asked. Like Alfonso Aguilar, many survive in homeless shelters and on food donated by churches. Yet the men still line up along the curb every day. More
Almost 1 in 10 Young Video Game Users 'Addicted'
from Forbes
A sizable number of young video game players − fully 8.5 percent − exhibit signs of addiction to gaming, a new study has found. These kids aren't just playing a lot. Their gaming interferes with school performance, disrupts interaction with family and friends and poses health problems. More
Survey: Cancer Survivors, Caregivers Benefit from Online Survivorship Care Plan
from Science Daily
An online tool that provides cancer survivors and their family members with an easy-to-follow roadmap for managing their health as they finish treatment and transition to life as a survivor got high marks from users, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine research, which will be presented this weekend at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. More
Social Worker Values Helping Patients, Families
from Bowling Green Daily News
When Christa Creekmore was 19, her grandfather became ill and had to be admitted to a hospital in eastern Kentucky. When he was released, a social worker was there to help him get medical equipment that he needed set up at his home. "I thought it was a neat job," she said. "Social workers help patients when they’re not able to focus on these things." More
Support the Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009!
Urge your Senator to support S.711, the "Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009"
Background
The mental health needs of the 1.64 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to make headlines. Over 18 percent of troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, nearly 300,000 troops, have symptoms of post traumatic stress or major depression. Another 19 percent have experienced a possible traumatic brain injury. Further, only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year. The suicide rate among our military is at its highest point in 26 years and our male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than civilians. Additionally, the stigma that has long been present in the military creates a situation where mental health needs are not adequately tended to by professionals.
Senator Max Baucus recently introduced S. 711 to implement a mental health screening program throughout the military. This legislation is based on the premiere program in the country for caring for Montana National Guard members suffering from PTSD, which was extraordinarily successful. S. 711 will require mental health screenings before deployment, upon return home, and every six months for two years. This basic and effective program will help safeguard the mental health of our entire military.
Action Requested
Please contact your Senator and ask him or her to support this critical legislation. If your Senator is already a cosponsor of S. 711, you can send him or her a thank you note.
Take Action!
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