Know a Social Worker Out There? It’s National Social Work Month!
Long before my illustrious radio career began, I managed to secure a summer job as a “Program Manager” at a 50-bed facility that provided housing, education and recreation for adults with severe disabilities. That was June of 1985…I went on to work at other institutional-type facilities, and as I worked my way through college in the mid to late 1980’s, I became part of the “normalization movement” that helped get people out of facilities and into homes in their own communities. As much as I wanted to work in the entertainment industry, the values that Social Work employment offered (and steady paycheck) kept me returning to the profession year after year. In a weird twist of employment fate, I ended up getting the KUIC Morning Show job just six months after I earned my California Therapy License…I never set up the private practice I imagined I would, because radio came callin’ 🙂 However, I’ve kept that license current all this time so I can continue to offer assistance when and where it’s appropriate, either through volunteer efforts in our hometowns, teaching social work at the collegiate level, or providing therapy online. Some of the best people in my life are social workers from my past employment experiences; my wife Meg and I met as Pediatric Social Workers in The California Regional Center system a million years ago. If you know a Social Worker, or your life has been positively impacted by a Social Worker, give them a little extra love this month!
