As we move together, yet apart, through these unprecedented times, the University of Maryland School of Social Work would like to add to our sense of community through “Wellness Wednesday” emails. Our goal is to highlight our alumni who are serving on the frontlines and, thereby offer inspiration and ideas about social work’s role in the pandemic. We are certainly a resource to health and social service care of those directly, and indirectly, affected by COVID-19 and can also be a resource to each other.
We Salute Our Alumni on the Frontlines
Robin McKinney, MSW '01 (left) and
Sara Johnson, MSW '02 (right)
Co-founders of the CASH Campaign of Maryland

CASH is a statewide nonprofit that promotes economic advancement for low-to-moderate income individuals and families. CASH accomplishes its mission through operating a portfolio of direct service programs, building organizational and field capacity, and leading policy and advocacy initiatives to strengthen family economic stability. CASH is known for its free tax preparation, and financial education services.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CASH has expanded financial education classes through its CASH Academy™platform to ensure that more people have access to the support they need to build their financial skills and receive guidance to manage complex financial challenges that arise as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CASH Academy is a statewide financial education system that markets free, fact-based classes taught by CASH staff and its local partners and connects residents to free financial coaching. CASH encourages everyone to check out their free resources at  www.cashmd.org

“Social workers are uniquely trained to help people navigate through this difficult time. Those with training in Financial Social Work are also positioned to guide people through the emotional side of money and financial decision making in times of stress and change that we are seeing now with the economic downturn due to COVID. CASH is ready to support individuals and families in these challenge times.” – Sara Johnson

We want to hear from you! If you are working on the frontlines of this pandemic, please let us know. We want to feature you and your story. Please submit your story and photo to [email protected].
Faculty Corner
Christine Callahan, PhD, LCSW-C
Research Associate Professor
Financial Social Work Initiative 

Whether you are working remotely right now, are an essential employee and going in to work, or are laid off, these unprecedented times bring many challenges for working and earning money to care for yourself and your family. If you need to file for Unemployment Insurance and are having difficulties, stay patient yet persistent and keep gathering info from trusted sources on navigating online systems and try not to get discouraged. The same goes for the Economic Stimulus Payments. The IRS has set up an online website (for instance, www.irs.gov/coronavirus/ ) to help answer questions and enable sign-up.
The Financial Social Work Initiative (FSWI) at the University of Maryland School of Social Work was founded in 2008 in growing recognition that addressing financial realities is more important than ever in people’s lives and in the social work profession, which serves those in need. Robin McKinney, MSW, CEO of the CASH Campaign of Maryland, is also a co-founder of FSWI, and both she and Sara Johnson, MSW, COO of the CASH Campaign of Maryland, are members of the FSWI Steering Committee. FSWI is active in research, education, and training in order to train new and practicing social workers in the field of financial social work, to increase their skill set and efficacy in working with clients in financial distress, and to advocate for greater financial and social stability and social and economic justice for individuals and communities. For more information FSWI, please visit https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/fsw/.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
CFPB invites you to join a free webinar to learn about our multilingual resources for the limited English proficient and multilingual community on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 from 1PM to 2PM ET. This 60-minute webinar will showcase the CFPB’s resources for limited English proficient communities. We will demonstrate how to find our resources, and how they can be utilized by consumers, practitioners, and industry stakeholders.

We will also highlight our multilingual materials pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and Disaster Preparedness and Recovery, including information about how to access relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which Congress passed to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether someone has experienced a loss of income or are targeted by a scammer, we have resources to help them remain protected during this difficult time.

In case you missed it, you can find many of our COVID-19 related resources and information at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/. These resources are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. You can also find additional CFPB resources available in these languages plus Arabic, Russian, and Haitian Creole, available for free at http://promotions.usa.gov/cfpbpubs.html.

Webinar Details

To join the webinar by phone only, either opt to receive a call back by providing your phone number upon joining the webinar, or call +1-415-527-5035 and enter the access code 903 729 070.

Click here to add this session to your calendar.

Closed captioning will be available during the webinar. For reasonable accommodations, please call (202) 435-9EEO, (855) 233-0362, (202) 435-9742 (TTY), or email [email protected] prior to the webinar.

  • Please feel free to email the Office of Public Engagement and Community Liaison should you have questions at [email protected]

Pro Bono Counseling Project: 2020 Professional Continuing Education Workshop

  • Best Practices in Teletherapy, Presenter: La Keita D. Carter, PsyD
  • Cost: FREE for Active PBCP Volunteers, $19 for non-volunteers
  • Wednesday, May 20, 2020
  • 1:00 - 3:00 PM
  • 2 CE Credits
  • Click here to register
Alumni Career Services
An exciting new way to launch your social work career, or advance it, has officially launched here at the School of Social Work! 

Handshake allows job seekers to create custom dashboards to serve as profiles to potential employers. Handshake also exposes employers to many more potential, qualified candidates. Handshake is used by hundreds of schools and universities across the globe.

Please join us at https://www.joinhandshake.com to create an account. Upon doing so, search for the University of Maryland School of Social Work and submit a request for approval to post on our portal.

We look forward to connecting with you on Handshake!
Volunteer & Paid Opportunities Related to COVID-19
Baltimore Neighbors Network: Lend some time to neighbors who can benefit from critical hope, comfort and solidarity in this time of isolation and uncertainty. https://baltimoreneighborsnetwork.org/volunteer/

Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services: Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS) has created a COVID-19 response plan aimed at mitigating risk for individuals experiencing homelessness, who are at particularly high risk and unable to self-isolate at home. The Case Manager role will be supporting MOHS’ efforts to provide on-going support to homeless citizens over the age of 62 moved into these designated sites. https://www.baltimorecorps.org/place-for-purpose-roles-2

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland: Meals on Wheels needs volunteers now more than ever. They are looking for volunteers on a short-term basis. A description of the volunteer opportunities, requirements of volunteers, and the steps to take to sign up can be accessed by clicking the following link. https://mowcm.mowscheduler.com/volunteerapplication

NORC at the University of Chicago: NORC is hiring interviewers to serve as Contact Tracers for the Maryland COVID Link initiative. These Contact Tracers will play a key role in the state’s effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. https://careers.norc.org/en-us/job/495613/contact-tracer-baltimore-md

University of Maryland Medical System: In response to Governor Larry Hogan’s call for 6,000 new hospital beds to ensure Maryland is prepared and ready to treat a potential surge in patients with COVID-19, the University of Maryland Medical System is putting together an Emergency Staffing Pool. https://jobs.umms.org/COVID-19-Emergency-Staffing-Pool

Vulnerable Populations State Task Force: The Vulnerable Populations State Task Force is hiring social workers for multidisciplinary teams to work with vulnerable populations during #COVID. Paid contract positions. Need is urgent & immediate. License not required. https://boards.greenhouse.io/readyresponders/jobs/4714996002
University of Maryland
School of Social Work | Website

Chrishna Williams, MS
Director of Alumni Relations and Career Services 
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