Suicide, the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI) youth ages 15 to 24, raises a criti- cal issue for social work research and practice. This paper ar- gues that AI youth suicide is a contemporary manifestation of ““soul wound”” and expands the definition of soul wound to in- clude present stressors and coping mechanisms for youth that are characterized by a legacy of colonization and cultural oppres- sion. While AI youth come from diverse communities, this paper will demonstrate the importance of examining youth suicide as part of the overall AI experience in the United States. Using an indigenist stress process model framework, it will subsequently examine four forms of stressors informed by the marginalization of the AI population: psychological strains of historical trauma, environmental stressors, quotidian stressors arising from socio- economic factors, and adversity from personal and relational role conflicts. AI youth mediate these stressors through coping mecha- nisms around social support and collective mastery. This paper will conclude with a call to develop an anti-oppressive, culturally relevant social work practice that supports meaningful identity development and collective efficacy.

The social work profession has long been concerned about its mission and perception. The two interests go hand in hand, because to have an effect on how we as social workers are viewed, we must be self-aware about who we are and what we do. This paper will address how social work periodically reflects upon and re-assesses its purpose because of internal considerations, such as the profession’’s ethics, and external forces, including the job market and public perception. Some of the research con- ducted over the years into public perception of social work——as well as that of our clients——will be presented and compared. In addition, I review how the media have portrayed the field, and how we as professionals have marketed ourselves. Finally, some suggestions will be offered, which can be applied at various levels, including direct practice, program development and evaluation, administration, and branding of the profession as a whole.

Black women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of European standards of beauty, because these standards emphasize skin colors and hair types that exclude many black women, especially those of darker skin. Using a social work lens, this article explores the black woman’’s internalization of European beauty standards through family, peers, the media, and society, and the related outcomes of this internalization on self-perception, academic achievement, sexual behavior, employment, marital status, and mental health. A review of the research indicates that European standards of beauty can have damaging effects on the life trajectories of black women, especially those with dark skin, primarily in the form of internalized self-hatred. Suggestions are made for social work practitioners to address the effects of these internalized European beauty standards among black women through programming and clinical practice.

Increasing technology uptake in the nonprofit sector will allow nonprofit organizations and social workers to provide more effective services through improved work processes. The following paper will discuss how these processes (service delivery, fundraising, and outreach) are carried out in the nonprofit sector given the current technology landscape in nonprofits. I will provide background information about innovations such as cloud computing systems, social media, and mobile technologies that should be incorporated into the nonprofit sector in order to improve the quality of services and work processes. An overview of the barriers that nonprofits face, such as lack of knowledge, lack of resources, and demands by funders, will explain the challenges accompanying increased technology uptake. The final section provides a method to overcome obstacles, allowing the optimal integration of technology into the nonprofit sector.

Over the past two decades, the epidemic of sexual assault (assault, rape, and harassment) in the U.S. military has garnered increasing media and legislative attention. While activists and survivors have achieved some successes in achieving the passage of stronger policies that address military sexual assault, many of those changes are recent, and much work remains to be done. This paper examines the growth of a social movement over 22 years and seeks to determine how the social movement against military sexual assault contributed to the Department of Defense’’s shift from promises to action. I challenge social workers to examine their responsibility to groups whose voice has been silenced or stolen by trauma

Concern for environmental justice has increased in recent decades. Although the environmental justice field is closely linked to social justice, the social work profession has yet to gain a substantive involvement in environmental justice efforts. This article is a call to action for the social work profession and explains why the profession is ideally suited to address issues of environmental justice. It examines how issues of environmental injustice, such as the location of industrial waste facilities in predominantly minority communities, often affect those people who are most afflicted by other forms of injustice. A review of recent literature explains how the social work profession can shift its framework and make important connections to environmental justice. This article also discusses three recommendations for the social work profession to become involved in environmental justice.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 60% to 90% of individuals with mental health conditions are unemployed. Employer stigma toward hiring people with mental illness, a lack of local-level professional coordination, and ineffective legal mandates have all contributed to underwhelming employment for many qualified individuals. Employment outcomes of people with mental health conditions may be improved with a two-part, local-level employer awareness and stigma reduction campaign coordinated by social workers and other professionals. This article explores prior and ongoing efforts at the national, state, and local levels, and argues that New York City is a prime location to pilot an employer awareness campaign. Recommendations include details for launching such a campaign by building organizational partnerships to harness existing resources.

Guatemala is a country fractured by years of sociopolitical conflict and instability. In the summer of 2011, I secured grant funding to implement supportive counseling and educational services, in conjunction with a local nonprofit organization, to help local children better understand and process the profound effects of the country’’s civil war, which ended in 1996. Upon beginning this project, however, it became apparent that many of the children with whom I interacted had limited or no knowledge of the conflict. This article explores the pervasive and systematic avoidance of discussing widespread psychosocial trauma and the potential effects of this avoidance on parents, children, and the greater community. I compare these observations with existing social work and psychology research literature, drawing from the concept of intergenerational trauma, or the transference of trauma symptoms from parent to child. I then discuss whether the avoidance of trauma discussion with children can protect their psychological well-being and prevent the trans- ference of trauma, or if such avoidance leads to increased risk of individual psychological impairment and cyclical community problems. Based upon this analysis, the article finally discusses implications for social workers confronting psychosocial trauma in post-conflict settings.