Centering Veterans Voices in Larger Systems

Saturday, January 13, 2024

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

via Zoom

Presented by

Veteran Social Workers of Connecticut

A Committee of the NASW/CT

We are military veterans who are social workers. We are united in maintaining a life of meaningful purpose through our shared histories and ongoing commitments of service to each other and our local communities based in social work values. We provide a support network for military veterans who are practicing social workers and social work students, engage in advocacy and education relating to veteran issues, and seek to recruit more veterans into the social work profession.

Brief Summary Abstract 

Conventional veteran services are enveloped by a neoliberal ethos and reductive medicalized practices within racist systems that disproportionally impact formerly enlisted veterans. As veteran social workers, we believe our profession should forge a new direction that centers formerly enlisted veteran social worker perspectives in determining social work practice with veterans.

Learning Objectives

Participants will achieve the following learning objectives and outcomes that draws on social work practice standards and conceptual frameworks, with an emphasis on Black, Brown and Indigenous veterans that will:

• Demonstrate an awareness of how non-veteran social worker assumptions, identities, values, and beliefs can affect their work with veterans. 

• Explore inconsistencies between conventional practices within veteran services and social work values and ethics; in order to identify empowerment-based approaches to micro, mezzo and macro practice with formerly enlisted veterans that are more consistent with the mission and purpose of the profession.

• Understand the value of recruiting more formerly enlisted service members into the social work profession for the purposes of practicing with veterans, and further developing the NASW’s Standards for Social Work Practice With Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families. 

1 Veterans Service CEC

$45.00 / Non-members ~ $30.00 / Members ~ $15.00 / Students

Click here to register.