On Social Workers

Sarah Lancashire  as Miriam Grayson in TV drama series  Kiri written by jack Thorne.  Her Dog represented her own needs.  

Should our government and the well being of society be assessed above all by how it treats its child, the child in its care?  If the answer is yes then it stands to reason  that social workers should be the highest paid workers in local government. 

They are looking after the greatest asset of society, the next generation, at its greatest time of need.  This may be difficult to read for those like me who had bad experiences in care but it is possible to change the narrative and see more clearly.  

Social workers walk into burning homes to save traumatised children and families. Social workers come face to face with adults who they know are lying. Social Workers are on the frontline of  the emotionally distraught. Social workers are here to protect family and that includes its children.  

Sarah Lancashire starring in Kiri written by Jack Thorne a tv series based on the drama of a social worker pushed to her limits. 

Social workers  are detectives charged with stopping families from self harming.  The weakest is harmed first. Social workers know more than they can tell. They see unspeakable things and hear untellable horrors.  They are guardians.  They are a force for good. They are healers.  And they are hated because they see us at our worst - families in critical breakdown can lie to themselves. "My child is healthy!"

And so it stands to reason that social workers get  the same prejudice from society as young people in care. They need our support.  They need our compassionate critique. I understand most of all that neither I or you could do what they do. And, for all our well being,  someone has to. 

Sarah Lancashire in Kiri written by Jack Thorne. Kiri is  the first TV Drama Series (in the history of British Television)  starring a social worker.  

It is a noble profession. I know.  I see the committed students in universities throughout the country and I meet dedicated social workers throughout the UK too.  They are doing the best they can regardless of the pressure they are under. 

They need our support, respect and compassionate critique. It is an exciting time to be a social worker.  Changes are afoot. I could not do what they do. Without them society would fall apart. It takes more strength, inner resolve and emotional intelligence, to be a social worker, than I could ever muster.  As we enter Christmas and winter, I salute them.