One of our faculty members shared this excellent article, by Jason Lerner, the 911 portfolio director with the University of Chicago Health Lab and Harold Pollackthe Helen Ross professor at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, University of Chicago.
"From the start of the coronavirus pandemic, America has noted and honored the sacrifices made by first responders and medical professionals on the front lines. We’ve all seen searing nightly news footage of PPE-clad EMTs answering emergency calls, of doctors and nurses struggling to provide humane care in understaffed emergency departments and intensive care units.
"Another group of front-line professionals receives far less attention yet is no less essential — and has made no smaller sacrifice in this fight. Social workers have been finding shelter for homeless covid patients, providing treatment for people with addiction disorders made more challenging by pandemic-related social isolation, and comforting bereaved family members who have lost loved ones to the twin epidemics of covid and opioids."