0:00:06.040,0:00:08.399
I have a theme song, come on!

0:00:08.399,0:00:10.639
I love this song!

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And I love this song[br]because everybody needs a hero.

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And, in fact, at some point,[br]when life throws us a big challenge,

0:00:17.080,0:00:19.099
we need a super hero!

0:00:19.099,0:00:22.632
Somebody who is not scared[br]to jump into the chaos

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and fight the good fight[br]with us shoulder to shoulder, right?

0:00:26.425,0:00:29.527
So I've got good news for you today.

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Because all around the world,[br]

0:00:31.675,0:00:35.193
cleverly disguised[br]as mild mannered individuals,

0:00:35.193,0:00:38.171
we have thousands of super heroes,

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over 600,000 of them in the US alone.

0:00:42.180,0:00:44.267
We just call them social workers.

0:00:44.267,0:00:46.297
(Applause) (Cheers)

0:00:48.342,0:00:51.744
Now, for some of you,[br]when I said super hero,

0:00:51.744,0:00:54.256
that might not have been [br]the first thing that popped

0:00:54.256,0:00:56.160
into your head was social worker.

0:00:56.160,0:00:58.352
Maybe what popped into your head

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was something a little more like this

0:01:00.397,0:01:01.334
(Laughter)

0:01:01.334,0:01:03.836
peering suspiciously[br]at your parenting skills.

0:01:03.836,0:01:04.989
(Laughter)

0:01:04.989,0:01:07.160
Or, if not, maybe like this:

0:01:07.160,0:01:10.151
Peace and love and singing Kum By YaH.

0:01:10.151,0:01:13.972
Well, I'm here to tell you social workers[br]are neither of those things.

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My goal when you leave today is[br]that the image you conjure

0:01:17.127,0:01:20.065
when you hear social worker[br]looks a little more like this.

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(Laughter)

0:01:21.349,0:01:23.003
Social worker as super hero.

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And I want to spend the next couple[br]of minutes talking to you about that.

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Social workers are not just[br]nice people with good hearts,

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Social workers are educated professionals[br]

0:01:34.111,0:01:37.322
who go through [br]accredited university programs

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that are grounded [br]in a rigorous research base.

0:01:40.411,0:01:44.227
And what they learn there is part [br]of what makes them a super hero.

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The two biggest things?

0:01:46.003,0:01:50.603
They learn their mission, and they learn[br]how to make change happen.

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The mission of social work[br]is to promote and support

0:01:54.907,0:01:57.966
individual and community well-being,

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and to fight social injustice.

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Social workers do that because we learn

0:02:04.148,0:02:07.954
how to see and understand[br]the invisible inner connections

0:02:07.954,0:02:12.188
between people, and their families,[br]and their neighborhood,

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and their community, and society,[br]and laws, and policies.

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And we know that when those connections[br]tangle or break at any of those levels,

0:02:21.044,0:02:22.741
problems happen.

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So we learn evidence-based interventions

0:02:26.293,0:02:30.621
that can help solve the problems[br]around those tangles and breaks.

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And with that, we can make[br]powerful change happen.

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A second reason I like to think[br]of social workers as super heroes

0:02:38.087,0:02:40.408
is because, just like with a super hero,

0:02:40.408,0:02:44.008
everyone is going to need[br]a social worker at some point

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because everybody's going to face a[br]big challenge in their life at some point.

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Maybe the challenge starts early,[br]and you're born prematurely.

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Who helps your new parents[br]find a specialist?

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Or figure out how to pay[br]those huge hospital bills?

0:02:59.054,0:03:01.778
Or find a car seat for a teeny tiny baby?

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Hospital social workers.

0:03:04.259,0:03:06.314
A little later on in life,[br]you're in school

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and maybe you're being bullied,

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or you're thinking about dropping out.

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Who designs and implements[br]the anti-bullying

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and the drop out prevention [br]programs in schools?

0:03:16.047,0:03:17.730
School social workers.

0:03:18.630,0:03:21.110
Later on, as you get older, maybe you face

0:03:21.110,0:03:24.382
one of those grown-up problems, a divorce,

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or you lose your job,[br]and you sink into a depression,

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maybe you even start drinking too much.

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Who do you turn to [br]for counseling and therapy?

0:03:33.449,0:03:36.512
Licensed, clinical social workers.

0:03:36.512,0:03:40.024
Did you know that the majority[br]of mental health services in this country

0:03:40.024,0:03:42.169
are provided by social workers?

0:03:42.169,0:03:44.210
It's nearly 70%.

0:03:44.210,0:03:49.382
And, then we have[br]those really tough end-of-life issues:

0:03:49.382,0:03:52.328
your 86 year old dad [br]has Parkinson's disease,

0:03:52.328,0:03:55.570
but is insistent[br]that he can live independently.

0:03:55.570,0:03:58.620
Who helps you figure out[br]if he really is safe?

0:03:58.620,0:04:01.748
Or, who helps you find in-home health?

0:04:02.778,0:04:06.568
Or navigate those really difficult [br]conversations about wills,

0:04:06.568,0:04:09.580
and power-of-attorney, and DNR?

0:04:09.580,0:04:12.585
Geriatric social workers.

0:04:12.585,0:04:14.716
Then there's the bigger picture.

0:04:14.716,0:04:18.827
Who's running the non profit agency?[br]Who's organizing the community?

0:04:18.827,0:04:23.427
Who's fighting to make sure the laws[br]and the policies are just and fair?

0:04:23.427,0:04:27.644
Those are social work managers,[br]organizers, and advocates.

0:04:27.644,0:04:31.642
So at some point, everybody's[br]going to need a social worker.

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The final thing that I like to think about

0:04:34.706,0:04:37.208
when I think about [br]social workers as super heroes

0:04:37.208,0:04:40.583
came to me when my friend Carla[br]gave me a mug for my birthday

0:04:40.583,0:04:42.585
that had this saying on it,

0:04:42.585,0:04:44.508
and at first I thought it was cute:

0:04:44.508,0:04:46.819
"I'm a social woker [br]what's your super power?"

0:04:46.819,0:04:50.223
But then I realized, that's exactly[br]what social workers do.

0:04:50.223,0:04:55.195
We say, "Hi, I'm a social worker.[br]What's your super power?"

0:04:55.195,0:05:00.167
Social workers believe in strengths[br]and we help people find their strengths

0:05:00.167,0:05:04.152
so that they can face the challanges[br]that they're wrestling with.

0:05:04.152,0:05:08.634
My favorite social worker strength story[br]comes from my friend, Martha,

0:05:08.634,0:05:10.946
who was a social worker[br]who lived on the coast

0:05:10.946,0:05:13.590
and every year, she would take[br]a social work intern.

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Well, one year she had a young woman[br]she assigned him to a client

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named... I'll call him Bob.

0:05:18.390,0:05:21.016
Bob struggled with a severe mental illness

0:05:21.016,0:05:23.844
and isolated himself in his apartment

0:05:23.844,0:05:27.867
and all he would do all day,[br]obsessively, was listen to the radio.

0:05:27.867,0:05:30.295
So Martha sends the student[br]to do an assessment,

0:05:30.295,0:05:31.626
the student comes back.

0:05:31.626,0:05:33.552
Martha says, "So, what'd you learn?"

0:05:33.552,0:05:35.022
And the student says,

0:05:35.022,0:05:39.319
"I learned he is really good[br]at listening to the radio."

0:05:39.319,0:05:41.778
But she had a plan.

0:05:41.778,0:05:44.945
She went to the local coast guard office[br]where apparently there is

0:05:44.945,0:05:47.913
somebody who has to listen[br]to the short wave radio all day long

0:05:47.913,0:05:50.516
and write down the announcements[br]and the news in a log.

0:05:50.516,0:05:53.910
And she convinced them [br]to let Bob volunteer.

0:05:53.910,0:05:56.124
Then she convinced Bob to try it:

0:05:56.124,0:05:58.795
"Really Bob, they want you[br]to listen to the radio!"

0:05:58.795,0:06:00.092
Well he did.

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And he listened to the radio

0:06:01.672,0:06:04.870
better than anybody[br]had ever listened to the radio.

0:06:04.870,0:06:08.501
They loved him![br]They hired him part-time.

0:06:08.501,0:06:11.280
So then Bob said, "OK,[br]I have a little bit of money.

0:06:11.280,0:06:14.979
I'm getting out of the house[br]a little bit, I'd like to try eating out.

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I haven't done that in years,[br]but I'm scared to do it alone.

0:06:17.881,0:06:20.161
Would you meet me at the local diner?"

0:06:20.161,0:06:23.187
So the student says yeah[br]and the next day she gets there,

0:06:23.187,0:06:26.408
but she gets there early,[br]and she sits on the far side of the diner

0:06:26.408,0:06:29.427
so that when Bob comes in,[br]she hollers across the diner,

0:06:29.427,0:06:31.777
"Bob, what did you hear on the radio?"

0:06:31.777,0:06:33.830
Bob hollers back all the news.

0:06:33.830,0:06:34.965
(Laughter)

0:06:34.965,0:06:37.637
They do this a couple times[br]a week, for several weeks,

0:06:37.637,0:06:39.625
so every local in the diner knows

0:06:39.625,0:06:42.405
that if you want to know[br]what's going on, you ask Bob.

0:06:42.405,0:06:45.615
And Martha swears that by the end[br]it was like that scene in Cheers

0:06:45.615,0:06:48.272
when Norm walks in, and it was like "Bob!"

0:06:48.272,0:06:54.721
So Bob has a job, and money, [br]and friends, and it all happened

0:06:54.721,0:06:59.959
because the social worker tapped into[br]his super power of radio listening.

0:07:01.650,0:07:03.587
My final thought for you today is this:

0:07:03.587,0:07:07.885
as I've said before, everyone, [br]at some point will need a social worker.

0:07:07.885,0:07:14.437
When that happens to you, don't worry,[br]don't be embarrassed; go find one.

0:07:14.437,0:07:18.038
I promise you, [br]they will be a super hero.

0:07:18.038,0:07:22.504
And better yet, they will help you[br]find your super power

0:07:22.504,0:07:25.911
so that you can work through[br]whatever life is throwing your way.

0:07:25.911,0:07:27.317
Thank you very much.

0:07:27.317,0:07:29.193
(Applause)