An Online Community for Social Workers

Socialworkhelper is an online magazine with over 85K fans (as of 2015) ! How did it all begin?

As Deona Hooper, MSW, founder of the publication/community, explains that it “was born from pain. This time period was one of the most difficult times in my life. I had no health insurance, and had to access the free clinic for health care… I thought to myself, “ Who helps social workers when we need help?””

Deona kindly agreed to an interview. At the time, she was a recent honors graduate and worked as a Child Protective Services Investigator.

Deona is very talented and skilled with technology and through the combination of her computer skills and knowledge of the social work field, she created www.socialworkhelper.com, a social networking community for social work practitioners and students.

In this post, you will have the opportunity to not only learn about this site, but to also hear about Deona’s unique journey to becoming a social worker. She is a third-generation teen parent who has struggled to work and study her way out of poverty. I think you will find her determination, hard work and generosity inspiring.

Deona – Could you describe a bit of your background?

I would define myself as a complex person with a complex history. My educational background is not reflective of where I come from.  My grandmother was a teen mother, my mother was a teen mother, and so was I. There were many barriers and challenges in life that I had to overcome, but that is a story for another time.

In 1997, I graduated from Methodist University with a double major in Social Work and Sociology. After graduation, I found work as a correctional officer in a Supermax facility, and later as a sworn law enforcement officer working on patrol.  

While serving as a LEO, I started working part-time as Loss Prevention Detective in the private industry which eventually transitioned into a full-time Detective position. In this position, I began to gain experience in developing policy, writing security protocols, training staff, and using data driven analysis to reduce company losses.  Private industry fully embraced technology while sparing no expense in order to identify patterns in large streams of data.

Several years later, a family tragedy required me to move back home to help out my aging parents that required me to look for new employment.  In 2007, I officially became a social worker despite feeling like one in my other jobs. 

I worked as a Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigator for two years before deciding to pursue an MSW in Social Work Management and Community Practice from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2009.

While there, I also obtained an additional certification in Nonprofit Management before graduating in December 2010. I am a North Carolina Child Welfare Collaborative Scholar, and I also interned for the National Association of Social Workers-NC Chapter as part of my field practice.

After graduation, I found it difficult to find employment in the field. Despite my previous CPS experience, BSW, and prior work history, I was told that I had no post master’s experience.  I was finally able to re-enter the workforce as an entry level CPS Investigator in March 2012.

Could you tell us what is Socialworkhelper.com and what led you to its creation?

During the year I was unemployed, I decided to pursue a secondary bachelor’s degree in information technology at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  Technology has always been a hidden passion of mine.  I thought that I needed a degree to legitimize my self-taught skills. Also, I needed some more student loan money to prevent me from losing my house.

Socialworkhelper.com was born from pain. This time period was one of the most difficult times in my life. I had no health insurance, and had to access the free clinic for health care. I was depressed about the debt that I had acquired to seek higher education, and I was afraid that I was going to lose everything that I had worked for.  I couldn’t seek counseling because I didn’t have any health insurance.

I thought to myself, “ Who helps social workers when we need help?” I had to let go of my professional association memberships because I could no longer afford it. LinkedIn and Facebook did not feel like the appropriate forums to post some of the things I was feeling. 

I was very conscious about what I posted due to potential employers using social media to review potential candidates. Where are the support groups for people like me? I knew that I could not be the only person experiencing these feeling during this recession. An idea was born, and I began building the network in pieces until it developed into what it is today.  There is a member approval process that is intended to prevent spammers from gaining access to the network.  Most importantly, I have designed the interior of the network to prevent Google bots from archiving posts on the network.

How did you decide on the site’s various components?

The site is constantly evolving. As I meet professionals and students from around the world, I am able to identify their needs and build accordingly.  I am currently working on developing access for a Google Hangout inside the network as well as a mobile app on both Android /Apple devices.

However, I decided to rollback the dates on those two projects in order to develop the resource directory, groups and mobile web access for all devices.  Currently the network supports the import of WordPress blogs for each user to their homepage.  In addition, members can choose to update Twitter and Facebook simultaneously when they update their status on the network.

Can someone with google blogger upload their posts?

I have made some adjustments. I have not been a big fan of the google blogger, but I did add an option for those who use other options such as Tumblr, Typepad and Blogger. Now, users have the ability to add an rss feed to their My Page in order to import other types of blogs onto their page. Just add the url to the gadget, and then decide how many posts you want to import onto your page.

The site has various support groups for unemployed professionals, new social workers, students, and more. Could you tell us how these support groups work and which are the most active?

I started a few groups to show members the tools and capabilities groups can provide for their networks.  The most active group unfortunately is for unemployed workers. They use it to share resources and tips, as well as provide support to one another. Even those that have found employment since the network has begun still post resources and give information to the group.

The Globalization of Social Work Practitioners and Educators has the most members spanning from over 16 countries. This group has the most potential for global discussion. Posts in this group indicate that we are all facing similar barriers and challenges in our respective countries.  The Social Work and Technology groups for individuals and small businesses/nonprofits are also popular on the network.

How is this site different from other social networks?

Other social networks prevent members from connecting others they do not know or who are out of their networks. Viruses and spam on these networks reinforce members’ apprehensiveness to reach out to others in their field of practice.

Current social network models promote fragmentation and group isolation. It is very difficult to cross collaborate, share information, show support or work on projects using other social networks.

Socialworkhelper.com is designed specifically to do the opposite. Not only can you upload photos and videos, but you can upload/store power points, pdfs, and other data files. Groups are designed to be used as your own mini network. When someone creates a group, they have the ability to create pages, add files, and other media to be stored inside the group. Additionally, group members have the ability to message all members in the group and determine whether to leave the group opened or closed.

Other social networks or Google groups, do not give members the ability to organize and store data without searching through long streams of posts within the group. Conversely, groups in this site can operate like their own social network while remaining connected to the community.

How are you hoping that social workers may benefit from the chat/video chat features of socialworkhelper.com?

My hope for the network is that existing groups/associations will create groups on Socialworkhelper.com. I want them to utilize the available tools in order to develop and/or work on real-time solutions both locally and globally. No more posting and waiting for a response.

Members can have real time discussions if they choose too, and they are no longer limited by their geographical locations. Social Workers in New York could easily share their ideas via video chat, private, or group chat with Social Workers in California, United Kingdom, or the Down Under Australia. However, members will be limited to who they can invite to chat according to their friends list.

Groups are a great way to meet others who share your ideas. Remember, anyone can send anyone a friend request because this is our network. The network also incorporates a twitter dashboard to engage and monitor live twitter streams as well as the ability to follow members on twitter by hovering over there update/tweet on the network.

How do you envision this network evolving over time?

I created this network to be fluid and have the ability to evolve based on the needs of the community. This is why I give users so much freedom to create, design and store data in their space. Additionally, I have designed this network to be mobile.

I look at Socialworkhelper.com as a canvas, the paint brushes, and the easel. The network is only a vehicle to facilitate communication without the restraints on other social networks. Currently, Social Work entities are trying to facilitate a global social work agenda using conferences to facilitate communication and collaboration between major stakeholders.

Technology is the only means to facilitate communication at a grass roots level while eliminating cost as a barrier to engagement. Social Workers tend to be good and kind people. Whether you are traveling cross-country or abroad, wouldn’t it be nice to know some locals? I believe the potential for this network will be limited only by our vision.

Could you use help from the social work community in bolstering socialworkhelper.com in any way?

The soul of this network depends on the social work community. I have tried my best to find free resources and pool them into one place for professionals looking for information and support who may be lacking in financial resources. The best resource is the social workers themselves.

There are many in the social work community who are passionate about technology, as well as their practice areas. Some are passionate about social work and technology in education or in clinical practice. Some are interested in the research and affects of social work and tech.

My goal is to create a place for these folks to facilitate discussions and share their knowledge with each other and the community. I want students to not only interact with other students from their school, but I want them to interact with other students domestically and abroad.

The network could use people to lead groups, facilitate discussions, import their blogs to share their perspective, share research, or training power points that maybe helpful to someone dealing with the same issues with limited resources.

The network is really open for members of the social work community to create or engage based on what they care about the most. I am also thinking of adding a webinar component for those who want to share knowledge in a teaching format.

If I may go back to the personal arena, are you the first person in your family to have gone to college?

Yes, I am the only one in my family that decided to go to a four-year university. I do have one sister that obtained an associates degree from the local community college for computer technology. She was diagnosed with Lupus shortly after and complications prevented her from entering the field.

Neither of my parents finished high school, but they made sure all of their children received high school diplomas. My parents have been together for 49 years and both of them retired from manufacturing jobs. Despite the challenges they both faced growing up, I know they gave their best.

What advice would you give other aspiring individuals in similar circumstances?

I believe the ability for my story to be possible today is deteriorating. There is a real push in this country to prevent those living under the poverty line to make it into the middle class. Unless you hit the lotto, marry well, or get a quality education, there is no way for someone to escape surf-doom. Education is being attacked from 0 to college.

Although each of my parents worked two jobs each, they at least had a manufacturing job with benefits as their primary employment. Outsourced or offshored, depending on which term one feels is more applicable, those jobs are no longer available in this country.

During this time, I was at least able to qualify for daycare and medicaid as a full-time student on AFDC (Aid to family for Dependent Children) an IV-E program that gave a stipend of $232.00/month. Imagine having to sit with a financial aid officer going over your Student Aid Report at a 20 grand a year predominately white institution. In college, I learned about Planned Parenthood and health education that helped with prevention.

Now, Title IV E would rather pay daycare approximately $700.00 per week for a single mother of five children while she volunteers, but Work First won’t pay if those same hours were spent in a classroom.

When people with limited financial resources make the decision to get an education, it is not simply a choice about taking out student loans or not. Decisions are being made about having health care or not, leaving children home alone or not, having something to eat or not, and/or having electricity, water, and heat on all at the same time. Planned Parenthood programs are being defunded and prevention resources are becoming scarce.

Getting my Master’s Degree two years ago almost broke my spirit, and it wasn’t the curriculum. No American should have to choose between meeting their basic human needs (food, shelter, health care) in order to obtain a degree. I thought after getting my bachelor’s degree I had escaped the worse to endure. Survival is instinctive. When you come from a humble beginning, you survive until you can get to a place where you can live, at least that is the goal.

I had a support system, and my gift from God was intelligence. Although I may have graduated with honors and I received my masters at an accelerated pace, I never had to study more than the night before. I have often wondered what I could have achieved if I hadn’t been in a constant state of duress while earning my degrees. What about those without a support system, both parents, and who need to focus on studying instead of eating?

In my opinion, those who are aspiring to escape their circumstances, are not the ones who need advice. It’s the academics, researchers, and the policy makers who do.

Thanks so much, Deona, for putting together such a wonderful resource for the benefit of social workers around the world!

I am also most appreciative for all the honesty and courage you exhibited in sharing how hard it was for you to go after your MSW. We, as a country, need to do better…

Feel free to follow Deona on twitter at @swhelpercom or contact her at contact@socialworkhelper.com.

What questions or thoughts come to your mind about this post? About the topic of networking and collaborating with other social workers, or upward social mobility? Deona and I want to hear from you 🙂