By Cheryl Jahn

It’s Social Work Week!

Mar 21, 2023 | 4:08 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Bridget Moran lives in this community forever. Her bronze statue is gracing Third Avenue. She was the quintessential social worker, fighting so hard for the rights of children and First Nations in the North in the 50s and 60s that she was fired from her job.

Kate Stanvick has a story all her own.

“I was in care and foster homes were never really supportive of the person. I was jumping through hoops, from home to home. And then I had a counsellor once told me that wasn’t going to make it as a social worker. So, yeah, growing up through a lot of challenges, I had a daughter at 19.”

Heather Lamb works with Spinal Cord Injury BC and is one of two British Columbians Social Workers to be awarded the 2023 Canadian Association of Social Workers Award.

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“I was nominated because of my work on the ABC newsmagazine Perspectives, which is with the ABC Association of Social Workers. I’ve been the editor for about three years and the magazine comes out three times per year. It’s subscription only, so it’s received by social workers, government workers, health care workers, that kind of thing.”

Lamb has dedicated personal and professional time to fighting for a more accessible society for people with disabilities. Heather’s personal and family experience with disability, fuels her passion for addressing ableism in society.

“It recognizes the amazing work that social workers do all year behind the scenes. Most of us are not in the spotlight. Most of us don’t actually like being in the spotlight. And we work really hard behind the scenes to help people navigate the system and live well, but also to do systemic advocacy, to try and change the systems so that the next people don’t have to deal with the major barriers that people are experiencing now.”

And it is precisely why Stanvick herself became a social worker.

“It’s hard getting into it, especially with a lot of that doubt,” said Stanvick. “From where I’ve come from. Just, you know, live the same lifestyle as my family members. So it’s been a hard go, but I’m still showing up every day doing it and trying to make a change everywhere I can.”

Social workers are found in every facet of community life – hospitals, mental health clinics, seniors care, child welfare agencies, family service organizations, schools, treatment programs, correctional facilities, in private practice, and various private and public agencies serving community members.