March is Social Worker Appreciation Month!

March is Social Worker Appreciation Month! The theme for 2024 is Empowering Social Workers! There are a lot of different problems impacting the United States today, including rising home insecurity and homelessness; the vast impact of the opioid crisis; and a rising mental health crisis (Center for Disease Control, n.d.). Our country’s social workers are those who are trained to address these problems, along with many others like domestic violence, child welfare, etc. 

A social worker’s role is not only incredibly important for our society, but it is also a demanding and difficult career. Therefore, March is an important time to acknowledge the phenomenal work that social workers across the country do to help others who are struggling. During this month, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has the goal to “raise awareness of the social work profession and highlight the need for the government, regulators and employers to work to improve pay for social workers as a way of investing in addressing challenging social issues” (2024).  

According to the NASW, social work is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States right now, and by 2030, there are expected to be over 782,000 social workers (2024). We need people who are willing to dedicate their careers to helping others who are struggling with different issues, which is why it’s important to uplift and provide support to social workers. 

Ways of Acknowledging Social Worker Appreciation Month: 

• Repost content about 2024’s Social Worker Appreciation Month on your social media platforms. Use the hashtags #SWMonth2024 #EmpoweringSocialWorkers #SocialWorkMonth and #NASW so others can join the conversation. Also be sure to include @nasw on Twitter, tag @naswsocialworkers on Facebook, and tag @naswsocialworkers on Instagram and @nasw_socialwokers on TikTok  
• Learn more about the role of social workers and use that knowledge to educate others 
• Donate to a local cause or resource. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money–everyone’s contributions count and make a difference! 

Advocate for social workers by contacting legislators and regulatory agencies to change policies. NASW has an advocacy toolkit available here!