social work
Community assistance career
Social work is a profession focused on helping individuals, families, and communities cope with problems—poverty, abuse, addiction, mental illness, disability.
Social workers connect people with resources, advocate for vulnerable populations, and work toward systemic change.
The field spans settings from hospitals to schools to government agencies: She went into social work after volunteering at a homeless shelter.
Gains or helpful effects
- aidSupport given freely
- assistanceSupport or aid given
- subsidiesFinancial aid from government
- entitlementsLegally guaranteed benefits
Medicaid · food stamps · SNAP · unemployment · disability · public assistance · safety net · means-tested
Curative mental treatment
- case managementOverseeing individual client services
- interventionPurposeful involvement to change course
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- crisis interventionHelp during acute emergencies
mental health · trauma-informed · client-centered · psychosocial · empathy · rapport · resilience · confidentiality
Proactive community assistance
- volunteerismUnpaid community assistance
- nonprofitOrganization serving public good
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
inclusion · diversity · accessibility · participation · civic · neighborhood · partnership · settlement house
Advocating to decision-makers
- activismDirect effort for reform
- policyAdopted principle of action
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- rightsJustified claims to freedoms
justice · empowerment · grassroots · awareness · coalition · testimony · cause · equity
benefits
Gains or helpful effects
- aidSupport given freely
- assistanceSupport or aid given
- subsidiesFinancial aid from government
entitlements · Medicaid · food stamps · SNAP · unemployment · disability · public assistance · safety net · means-tested · low-income
therapy
Curative mental treatment
- case managementOverseeing individual client services
- interventionPurposeful involvement to change course
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
crisis intervention · mental health · trauma-informed · client-centered · psychosocial · empathy · rapport · resilience · confidentiality · referral
outreach
Proactive community assistance
- volunteerismUnpaid community assistance
- nonprofitOrganization serving public good
- collaborationJoint intellectual work
engagement · inclusion · diversity · accessibility · participation · civic · neighborhood · partnership · settlement house · mutual aid
lobbying
Advocating to decision-makers
- activismDirect effort for reform
- policyAdopted principle of action
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
rights · justice · empowerment · grassroots · awareness · coalition · testimony · cause · equity · systemic change
- social serviceswelfare office, case workers, job training, child protective services, counseling
- servicescleaning services, streaming, delivery services, salon, bellhop
- assistancehelp, help desk, aid, helpdesk, assistance
- careersdoctor, lawyer, teacher, engineer, nurse
- academic fieldsmathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, history
- social sciencessociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, political science
social workhuman trafficking
Criminal trade in people
predatory lending · exploitation · loan sharking · union busting · payday lending
social workneglect
Failure to provide care
abandonment · indifference · callousness · laissez-faire · victim blaming
social worklaw enforcement
Upholding legal codes
incarceration · policing · criminal justice · social control · punishment
work, social, society, associate, association, sociable, associated, antisocial, socialize