Sunderland City Council

A look back at World Social Work Day 2022

As part of World Social Work Day 2022 a lunchtime event took place at Sunderland City Hall on Tuesday 15^th of March, where colleagues came together in celebration of world social work day. Social Workers and social care workers had the opportunity to catch up with one another and they took some time to reflect on the recent challenges we have faced as a result of the unprecedented pressures of the global pandemic, recognising the valuable contribution that social workers and social care staff have made to the City’s response.

Senior Managers joined the Principal Social Worker in extending their heartfelt thanks to our teams for their tireless efforts. Some of our colleagues welcomed the opportunity to share their thoughts on what Social Work Day meant to them:

Marc Nolan, Strategic Manager:- “World Social Work Day provides an opportunity to come together across the whole of Adult Social Care to reflect on the past year. For me it is an opportunity to share, celebrate and promote the contributions of social work and social care in the lives of individuals, families and communities within Sunderland and beyond.”

Ashleigh Scott, Social Work apprentice: The opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the support that we have provided each other and our community. This is especially more important given the very difficult work that has been completed during covid

Amy Ward, NQSW: “You can’t always change the world, but you can change someone’s world”. ? Social work day makes me feel proud. This is because we promote people’s rights, and have values and ethics which promote equality and diversity.

Joanne Richardson TM: World Social Work day means celebrating our professional identity. Taking an opportunity to share time with my colleagues to reflect on the difference our profession and we as individuals and teams make to the lives of vulnerable people who we have the honour of supporting. Its about having time to breath in our busy lives and reflect on the challenges we have faced (especially over these last years) how we have overcome challenges, gained strength from one another to work, learn and grow together

We are very proud of the achievements of all of our Social Work teams and would like to once again take the opportunity to express our thanks to each and every colleague for their commitment and dedication to improving the lives of our residents.