For those in my age demographic,
you may remember the 1969 movie called, If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium, featuring Suzanne Pleshette and
Michael Constantine among others. Its simple
plot involved a group
of travelers from the United States racing through seven countries in eighteen days.
In a nutshell, that describes the start of 2010 Social Work Month in Illinois. Chapter President Dennis Crowell and I were in three
different NASW IL Districts this week for Social Work Month–related
events. In our case it was, If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Bellville, Chester,
or Fairview Heights.
Our trip started off in Carbondale, IL, for the
Southern District’s Social Work Day in conjunction with the social work program
at SIU–Carbondale. Ralph Martire (see
blog post from February 26, 2010) was the featured speaker at the morning CEU
event, followed by an awards luncheon in which Paula England received the Southern
District Social Worker of the Year Award and Margie Parker received the district’s
Public Citizen of the Year Award.
Later that evening, Dr. Wayne Paris, NASW IL
Southern District Chair and Chapter Board member opened up his historic home in
Anna, IL, to students and members alike for an evening of networking and camaraderie.
Our travels on Tuesday
took us first to Chester Mental Health Center where NASW IL Board members
Travis Nottmeier and Joe Harper both work. We spoke with about twenty social
workers at the facility about the many budgetary challenges the state of
Illinois is experiencing. Chester Mental Health Center is the largest
maximum-security hospital in the state and is funded by the Illinois Department
of Human Services’ Division of Mental Health. The original name of the
facility was the “Asylum for Insane Criminals” which received its first
patients in 1901. The current name, Chester
Mental Health Center, was adopted in 1975. Driving into town, Dennis and I were
made aware of the fact that Chester promotes itself
as “The Home of Popeye.” Chester is the hometown of Elzie Segar, the man who
created Popeye. In fact, there is a six foot statue of Popeye on the edge of
town. If Social Work Month took place in September, we could have participated
in the annual Popeye Picnic. Later in the evening, Joe Harper received the
Metro East District Social Worker of the Year award at a dinner in Fairview
Heights, IL.
Following our tour of Chester, Dennis and I visited
the Bellville office of Chestnut Health Systems, where we met with Connie McCarthy, MSW, LCSW, QMHP, her
staff, and the many challenges they are facing serving clients in a term of
expanding need and shrinking resources. The Belleville office social workers we
met were very passionate and committed despite the many challenges.
The week’s
travels culminated in a visit to the Jane Addams District for their District
Awards and CEU event, which took place in Dekalb, IL, on the Northern Illinois
University campus. Frank Ware, president
and CEO of the Janet Wattles Center in Rockford, IL, was awarded the district’s
Lifetime Achievement Award and Sheryl Frye, assistant director for Counseling
Services in the Office of Advocacy and Support at NIU, was awarded the Jane
Addams District Social Worker of the Year.
