Healthy Connections Community Health Network and Evolve Behavioral Health and Medication Management is helping celebrate this year’s Social Work Month in March with the theme “The Time is Right for Social Work” to highlight how social workers have enriched our society for more than a century and how their services continue be needed today.

The annual Social Work Month campaign is a time to show our appreciation for and to inform public, policymakers, and legislators about the services social workers provide in an array of sectors, including our community health centers.

There are almost 720,000 professional social workers in our nation, but that number is expected to rise to more than 800,000 by 2030, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Social workers have helped drive significant, positive changes in our nation. Social workers such as social reformer Jane Addams, former Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, and civil rights leaders Dorothy Height, Whitney Young and Ida B. Wells have pushed for voting rights, equal rights, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and other programs.

Social workers touch millions of lives each day and it is likely a social worker at some time will assist you, a family member, or a friend. For example, are you a student who needs athletic shoes to participate in sports, but your parents can’t afford to buy them? Talk to your school social worker. They can help you find the resources you need. Do you want a better relationship with your spouse, partner, children, or parents? A social worker can help you forge stronger connections.

Are you living with depression, anxiety, or a substance use disorder? A social worker can help you overcome them and thrive. At Evolve, Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) provide individual family, and group mental-health therapy in our communities.

Visit www.evolvebhs.com to learn more about our social workers and the services they provide.