SR0022 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0022 LRB103 25661 ECR 52010 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Social workers enter the profession because they have a strong desire to help empower individuals, families, communities, and our nation to overcome issues that prevent them from reaching their full potential; and

WHEREAS, Social workers have worked for more than a century to improve human well-being and enhance the basic needs of all people; and

WHEREAS, Social workers follow a code of ethics that calls on them to fight social injustice and to respect the dignity and worth of all people; and

WHEREAS, Social workers positively touch the lives of millions of Americans each day and in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, the military, child welfare agencies, small private practices, community centers, and in federal, state, and local government; and

WHEREAS, The 2023 Social Work Month theme is Social Work Breaks Barriers, embodying how social workers help empower individuals, families, communities, and our society to overcome hurdles that prevent them from achieving better well-being; and

WHEREAS, Social workers are the largest group of mental health care providers in the United States; they work daily to help thousands of Americans overcome mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety; and

WHEREAS, Social workers are on the front lines of the nation's opioid addiction crisis by helping people get the treatment they need and to prevail over substance use disorders; and

WHEREAS, Social workers help people cope with death and grief and help people and communities recover from natural disasters that are increasingly fueled by our warming climate, including hurricanes, drought, and flooding; and

WHEREAS, Social workers have helped this nation live up to its values by advocating for equal rights for all, including people of color, people who are Indigenous, people who are LBGTQIA2S+, or people who follow various faiths; and

WHEREAS, The social work profession is one of the fastest growing careers in the United States, with more than 60,000 more social workers expected to enter the profession over the next decade; currently, there are over 22,000 social workers in Illinois and about 708,000 social workers nationwide; and

WHEREAS, Social workers have continued to push for changes that have made our society a better place to live, including a livable wage, improved workplace safety, and social safety net programs that help ameliorate poverty, hunger, and homelessness; and

WHEREAS, Social workers endeavor to work throughout our society to meet people where they are and to help empower people and our society to reach the goals they wish to attain; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare the month of March 2023 as Social Work Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the National Association of Social Workers-Illinois Chapter with our sincere appreciation for their efforts.