Author: Alissa

Frontline Issue 5, Winter 2017

Link: https://socialworkactionnetworkireland.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/frontline-issue-5-winter-2017/

We could offer a plethora of actual facts here based on studies both nationally and internationally showing that we do indeed have a housing crisis, we do indeed have a homelessness crisis, we do indeed need immediate and colossal investment in social housing, we do indeed need immediate rent controls, we do indeed need a moratorium on evictions….but we won’t. These facts are out there in the public domain for everyone (including those powerful people in pivotal public positions), to read.
Instead we are going to say this;
WE.ARE.ANGRY. VERY.VERY.ANGRY.
And you should be too.
We are social workers, we are people working in the human professions, we are service users. We know there is a homelessness crisis. We are living it and seeing it every single day. We have for years. We saw this coming. We shouted. They ignored. We know there is a housing crisis. We are living it and seeing it every single day. We saw this coming. We shouted. They ignored. We know that there is a generation of young people whose futures are being destroyed because of these crises. We are living it and seeing it every single day. We saw this coming. We shouted. They ignored. We know there are thousands of children and young people whose mental health is suffering and whose mental health will suffer for years to come because of these crises. We are living it and seeing it every single day. We saw this coming. We shouted. They ignored. We know there are thousands of people staying in unsafe and potentially dangerous situations e.g. domestic violence relationships; children and young people in psychologically, sexually, emotionally, physically abusive situations, because of these crises. We are living it and seeing it every single day. We saw this coming. We shouted. They ignored.
Our Demands

1. We are calling for the immediate removal of Mr. Skehan from his position as chair of the Housing Agency. To have someone with such a blatant disregard for people as Mr. Skehan in this position is unacceptable. The callousness he has shown in his statements towards people in poverty and people experiencing homelessness is quite shocking. In this regard we in SWAN Ireland have no faith that the Housing Agency’s agenda is fair and unbiased and are concerned about the future development of housing policy in this regard. We are also very concerned about how the housing needs of other marginalised populations such as those with mental health difficulties, learning disabilities or people from ethnic minority communities for example, might be viewed by an Agency led by someone like Mr. Skehan.
2. We are also calling for the immediate retraction of remarks made by Mr. Skehan in media reports in recent days(4) and months(5) along with a clear and forthright apology.
3. We call on Mr. Varadkar to retract his statements in recent days(6,7), concerning his repeated quotes of inaccurate information regarding the homelessness crisis. We call on Mr. Varadkar to issue a statement outlining the actual facts regarding the homelessness crisis in the country and to use current statistics to reflect this.
4. We call for the immediate removal of Ms. Gleeson from her position in the Dublin Regional Homelessness Executive (DRHE). We in SWAN Ireland have no faith that the DRHE’s agenda is fair and unbiased and are concerned about the manner in which the DHRE will implement its statutory duties in light of the appalling comments made by the Executive’s Director in recent days(8). We are also very concerned about how the needs of other marginalised populations who may need to access homelessness services, such as those with mental health difficulties, learning disabilities or people from ethnic minority communities for example, might be viewed by an Agency led by someone like Ms. Gleeson.
5. We are also calling for the immediate retraction of the remarks made by Ms. Gleeson in media reports in recent days along with a clear and forthright apology.

We ask that all of our supporters and members call for these demands too. Please email your TD’s, post this on your social media accounts, ask your friends and family to act too. We aren’t asking for anything radical, just that people, all people, are treated with dignity and that our public representatives treat us with respect when it comes to offering us factual information.
Yours in solidarity,
The SWAN Ireland Steering Committee

“We welcome the global social work conference to take place during summer, 2018. This is a very important conference and it is great that it is hosted in Dublin, giving us an opportunity to discuss, learn and network.

However, we are deeply concerned about the registration fee being imposed. A fee of between €575 and €775 is far too high and does not even include the cost of accommodation. In Dublin, this is presently on average in excess of

€130 each night. Travel costs are also excluded.

The fee reflects neoliberal values and not the more progressive values of social work. Service users, students, retired practitioners and current practitioners simply cannot afford these costs. Neither can many academics, including those retired. The event risks becoming an elitist showcase gathering for the privileged.

We are also concerned about the way the inflated costs exclude those based in ‘austerity’ hit countries such as Greece, and further afield, in the Global South. Colleagues from low income countries with rising levels of inequality and budget cuts will be entirely excluded because of the fees, accommodation and travel costs; similarly, many in Ireland are still suffering from hardships because of the bail out of the banks and continuing ‘austerity’. The homeless numbers are also rising daily. As social workers we constantly deal with the consequences of social inequalities. The conference, its costs, values and politics must reflect all of these issues.

We are, therefore, calling on the Scientific Committee and associated conference organisers to immediately and substantially reduce the registration fee in order to make the event more inclusive”.

7 November 2017

Signed by

Dr Somaya Abdullah, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Hakan Acar, Liverpool Hope University, England & (in a personal capacity) executive member European Association of Schools of Social Work

Donna Baines, Chair and Professor, Social Work and Policy Studies, University of Australia, Sydney, NSW Australia

Neil Ballantyne, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, School of Health and Social Sciences, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

Professor Sarah Banks, Durham University, UK

Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, LICSW, Clinical Associate Professor, Boston University School of Social Work, Boston Liberation Health Group, USA

Professor Peter Beresford, Shaping Our Lives & University of Essex, England Rupaleem Bhuyan, PHD, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada

Christine Black-Hughes Ph.D., LICSW, Minnesota State University, Mankato, South Africa Dr Pieter J Boshoff, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa.

Prof Petro Botha, Associate Professor, UNISA, South Africa

Kathy Boxall, Professor of Social Work and Disability Studies, Edith Cowan University, Western, Australia

Mr. Nngodiseni Jimmy Budeli, University of Venda, South Africa

Professor Ian Butler, FAcSS, Honorary Professor, University of Exeter, England

Jorge Calbucura, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Melisa Campana PhD, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina

Ben Carniol, Professor Emeritus, Ryerson University (Toronto), and Scholar-in-Residence, Indigenous Field of Study, Faculty of Social Work, Laurier University (Kitchener, Ontario), Canada

Borja Castro-Serrano, Faculty member, Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty, School of Social Work, Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile

Chris Chapman, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, York University, Canada

Dr Clement Chihota, Social Work Educator, Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, New Zealand

Dominic Chilvers, Social Work Educator, Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, Member of Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers, New Zealand

Marcia B. Cohen, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, University of New England, School of Social Work, USA

Lynda Coley, Educator/fieldwork Placement Coordinator, Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, Aotearoa New Zealand

Emer Conneely, Social Worker, Social Work Action Network (SWAN) Galway, Republic of Ireland

Miriam Conry, Social Worker, Social Work Action Network (SWAN) Galway, Republic of Ireland

Lesley Cooper, Professor of Social Work, University of Wollongong 2500, NSW, Australia

Dr. Shirley E. Cox, ACSW/LCSW, Professor Emeritus, Brigham Young University, School of Social Work, USA

Dr Ian Cummins, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Salford, England Sofia Dedotsi, Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University, United Kingdom

Filipe Duarte, PhD candidate, Carleton University, School of Social Work, Canada

Dr Glynnis Dykes, Deputy Head of Department (Social Work), University of the Western Cape, South Africa

Dr. Griffin Epstein, Professor of Social Service Work, George Brown College, Canada Ms Merlene Esau, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Diane S. Falk, Professor of Social Work, Stockton University, USA

Professor Brid Featherstone, Head of Department (Behavioural and Social Sciences), University of Huddersfield, UK

Iain Ferguson, Honorary Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, University of the West of Scotland, Scotland

Dr Sandra B. Ferreira, Head of the Department (Social Work), University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Jorge Arturo Sáenz Fonseca, Presidente Junta Directiva, Colegio de Trabajadores Sociales de Costa Rica

Birgitta Forsberg, Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Dr Rachel Fyson, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham, UK

Dr Paul Michael Garrett, NUI Galway & member of Social Work Action Network (SWAN) Republic of Ireland

Scott Grant, Lecturer in Social Work, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland

Professor Mel Gray, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle, Australia

Surinder Guru, Lecturer, University of Birmingham, Country, England Dr. Hefin Gwilym, Lecturer in Social Policy, Bangor University, Wales Dr Neil Henderson, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

Marcus Herz, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Malmö University, Sweden

Dr. Dorothee Holscher, UKZN, Durban, South Africa

Mary Hurley, Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Republic of Ireland

Professor Jim Ife, Professor Social Work, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Australia

Magnus Israelsson PhD Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, Mid-Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden

Jessica H. Jönsson, PhD, Senior lecturer, Department of Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Angelika Kaffrell-Lindahl, Lecturer in Social Work, Dep. of Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden

Masoud Kamali, Professor, PhD, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Dr. Emily Keddell, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Gender and Social Work University of Otago – Te Whare Wananga o Otago, Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand

Dr Anneline Keet, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Dr. Christine Labonté-Roset, Alice-Salomon University, Berlin, Germany

Kin-Kwok LAI, Senior Lecturer Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong

Marcus Lauri, Ph.D. Political Science, Department of Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Sweden

Professor Michael Lavalette, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, Department of Social Work, Care and Justice, Liverpool Hope University & Social Work Action Network (SWAN), UK

Dr. Vesna Leskošek, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, Ljubljana, Slovenia Prof. Bogdan Lešnik, University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Work, Slovenia Michelle Lefevre, Professor of Social Work, University of Sussex, England

Professor Marcel Londt, Head of Social Work, University of the Western Cape, South Africa Professor Walter Lorenz, formerly Free University of Bolzano, Italy

Karen H. Lyons, PhD, CQSW, Emeritus Professor, International Social Work, London Metropolitan University, England

Dr Reima Ana Maglajlic, University of Sussex, UK

Professor JC Makhubele, University of Limpopo, South Africa Professor MDM Makofane, Unisa, South Africa

Dr Tish Marrable, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Work & Social

Care, University of Sussex, England

Dr Mbazima Mathebani, UNISA, South Africa

Kgosietsile Maripe, University of Botswana, South Africa Natalia Hernández Mary, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile

Day Marira, Student, Social Work Action Network (SWAN), Galway, Republic of Ireland

Kali Marsh, Community Counsellor, Early Intervention Progam, Central Toronto Youth Services, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dra. Leticia Arancibia Martínez, Teacher and Researcher, School of Social Work Escuela de Trabajo social, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile

Dr Poppy Masinga, Lecturer, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Dr Francine Masson, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Tatiana Matulayová, Associated Professor & Head of Department, Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Roslyn McConnell, Social Worker, Social Work Action Network (SWAN) Galway, Republic of Ireland

David McKendrick, Lecturer in Social Work, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland

 Dr Kenneth McLaughlin, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, England

Jane McPherson, PhD, MPH, LCSW, Director of Global Engagement & Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty Fellow, Center for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Carolina Muñoz Mendoza. Investigadora predoctoral, Instituto de Gobierno y Políticas Públicas (IGOP), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Catalunya-España

Goutham M. Menon, Ph.D, Dean & Professor, Loyola University Chicago, School of Social Work, USA

Dr. L.D. Mogorosi, University of Venda, South Africa

Christine Morley, Associate Professor/Head of Social Work & Human Services, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Gianinna Munoz-Arce, Senior Lecturer, Alberto Hurtado University, Chile

Liesbeth Naessens, lecturer and researcher, University College Odisee, Brussels, Belgium

Ana Ngamoki, Senior Advisor, Rehabilitation Programmes and Interventions, Department of Corrections/ Ara Poutama Aotearoa, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand

Cristian Leyton Navarro, Researcher, Latin American Center for Rural Development, Chile

Vibeke Bak Nielsen, Social Worker, Phd. Researcher & Educator, Aalborg University, Sociology and Social Work, Denmark

Carolyn Noble, PhD, Associate Dean (Social Work), ACAP, Sydney, Australia Sybille Nonninger, Grundsatzreferentin, Landesjugendamt Mainz, Germany

Gorana Panić, doctoral student, University of Jyväskylä, Finland/Bosnia-Hertzegovina

Manohar Pawar, PhD, Professor of Social Work and President, ICSD Member, Institute for Land, Water and Society School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

 Dr Donna Peach, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Salford, England

Professor Bob Pease, Honorary Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University and Adjunct Professor, Institute for the Study of Social Change, University of Tasmania, Australia

Maria Pentaraki, Queens University Belfast & Social Work Action Network (SWAN) Northern Ireland

Nevashnee Perumal, Lecturer, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa  Dr Roshini Pillay, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Pia Ringø, PhD, Assistant professor, Departement of Sociology and Social Work, Denmark

Jennifer M. Poole, MSW, PhD, Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

Dr Edmarie Pretorius, Head, Social Work, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Laura Racovita-Szilagyi, PhD, MSW, Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, TN, 37315 USA

Niina Rantamäki, Project Researcher, University of Jyväskylä, Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius, Finland

Angie Raphalalani, Practicum HUB Administrator, South Africa

Dr John Victor Rautenbach, Head of Department & Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work and Social Development, University of Fort Hare, South Africa

Michael Reisch, Ph.D., MSW, Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice School of Social Work, University of Maryland, USA

Taly Reininger, Assistant Professor, Universidad Andres Bello, Chile

Nol Reverda, Professor of Social Work, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Social Studies, Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Griet Roets, Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, Belgium

Dr. Steve Rogowski, Social Worker, Work Action Network/Labour Party, England

Rudi Roose, Prof. of Social Work, Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, Belgium

Cláudia Mônica dos Santos, Social Work, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Brasil

Lydia Sapouna, College Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies. University College Cork, Republic of Ireland

Méabh Savage, Lecturer in Social Care, Waterford Institute of Technology, Republic of Ireland

Professor Catharina Schenk, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

Mohd Shahid, Professor of Social Work, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, India

Graeme Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Wolverhampton, England Dr Gurnam Singh, Principal Lecturer in Social Work, Coventry University, UK

Dr Linda Smith, Lecturer, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland Roger Smith, Professor of Social Work, Durham, England

Dr Tony Stanley, Chief Social Worker & Assistant Director, Birmingham City Council/Birmingham Children’s Trust, England

Pedro Gabriel Silva, Assistant Professor, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro Portugal

Dr Ilze Slabbert, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Prof. Silvia Staub-Bernasconi, Technical University Berlin/Alice-Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Germany/Switzerland

Dr Paul Stepney, Adj. Professor of Social Work, 33014 University of Tampere, Finland Dr Marianne Strydom, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Professor Pius T. Tanga, University of Fort Hare, South Africa

Dr. Sonia M. Tascón, Lecturer, Social Work and Community Welfare Western Sydney University Sydney, Australia

Dimitra – Dora Teloni, Associate Professor, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Department of Social Work, Greece

Prof Adrian D. van Breda, University of Johannesburg & and President of the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions, South Africa

 Juan Saavedra Vásquez, School of Social Work, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chile

Paula Vidal Molina PhD, Professor Asistent, Coordinadora Núcleo de Investigación y Desarrollo Estado, Ciudadanìa y Democracia. Trabajo Sociall/ University of Chile, Faculty of Social Sciences (Social Work), Chile

Jijian Voronka, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Windsor, Canada

Tanya Voss, Assistant Dean for Field Education, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, United States

Frank T.Y. Wang, Professor, Graduate Institute of Social Work, National Chengchi University, Taiwan

Bill Whitaker, Professor Emeritus, Boise State University, Oregon, USA Elizabeth Whitmore, Professor Emerita, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

Olivia Brosnan Williams, Social Worker & Social Work Action Network (SWAN), Galway, Republic of Ireland

Professor Charlotte Williams, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia