COVID-19 ‘has transformed social work’

The local representative body for social workers across Barbados said Wednesday the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way in which social workers do their jobs as they move beyond face-to-face communication.

President of the Barbados Association of Professional Social Workers (BAPSW) Sharon-Rose Gittens said the disease has allowed professionals to reach into the lives and homes of clients for assessments and remote work.

In a statement to mark World Social Work Day 2021,Gittens noted that the emergence of the virus has caused the fraternity to expand its reach to a digital platform.

She said: “More importantly it has created space for greater participation and collaboration among the social work fraternity, and other para-professionals. Beyond this, we were able to amplify up our networking skills and build bridges with social workers across the region.”

The BAPSW leader recalled that on March 16, 2020 – the day acknowledged around the world as the occasion to promote all human relationships, Barbados was “rocked” by the news that it had one recorded COVID-19 case on the island.

But Gittens contends that COVID 19 “is making us stronger, innovative, imaginative, more resilient, and in many cases more self-aware”.

(EJ)