11/15
Social Work
Working on ‘the human side’ of heritable cancers
How do you talk about cancer risk? How do you make major life decisions knowing you are likely to develop cancer? Allison Werner-Lin looks at these questions, studying the intersection of genetics and family life.
Reports from the humanitarian crisis on the Colombian border
Master of Social Work Program student Patrick Ammerman, a 2019 Pulitzer Center fellow, spent more than two months reporting from the Venezuelan-Colombian border.
New intervention for ‘aging out’ youth from foster care
Caring Adults R Everywhere (C.A.R.E.), a social support program for young adults aging out of foster care, has released a new treatment manual designed to help practitioners build effective mentoring programs.
SP2’s One Book pick will foster months of discussion on race and social justice
This summer, the School of Social Policy & Practice community will collectively read and address “Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements.”
Survey examines emergency department management of deliberate self-harm
SP2’s Steven Marcus’ new study examines how routinely emergency room staff members properly provide help to individuals who present for self-harm, and how to improve emergency care for high-risk patients.
Can closing homeless encampments help Philadelphia’s opioid problem?
According to a new report, the city’s recent effort opened up treatment spots for people with opioid addiction and offered permanent and temporary housing options.
Negotiating a truce in the war on drugs
A Penn Law symposium brought together experts from the legal, law enforcement, social work, and policy camps to discuss how to refocus the decades-long fight to be less punitive and more protective.
Can music improve anxiety and depression for people with memory disorders?
That’s the aim of a recently completed pilot program connecting Penn Memory Center patients, Penn graduate students, and Curtis Institute musicians.
Healing with words, through writing workshops for cancer patients
Writing a Life, organized by the Abramson Cancer Center and held at Kelly Writers House each month, provides such patients the opportunity to creatively examine and express their experiences.
Staging the plague
Eighty-one students training in a diversity of health professions worked with regional and federal agencies to confront an imagined outbreak scenario centered around bubonic plague in Philadelphia.
In the News
When Kentucky bans homeless camps, where do people go?
Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice says that criminalizing street camping will simply force homeless people to sleep somewhere else, saddling them with bench warrants and unpayable fines.
FULL STORY →
AI helps organization send poorest households impacted by Helene and Milton $1,000
According to Stacia West of the School of Social Policy & Practice, research on guaranteed income programs shows that recipients spend the money on essential needs.
FULL STORY →
AI is being used to send some households impacted by Helene and Milton $1,000 cash relief payments
Stacia West of the School of Social Policy & Practice says that no one budgets better than a person in poverty.
FULL STORY →
Los Angeles is at a crossroads on homelessness
Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice says that rental-assistance programs are a less expensive solution for homelessness than building new housing, with lessened administrative costs and burdens.
FULL STORY →
Los Angeles’ $22-billion homelessness problem gives leaders a choice: Double down or change strategies
Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice says that Los Angeles should shift its focus from supportive housing construction to helping homeless and at-risk Angelenos pay their rent on the private market.
FULL STORY →
Why we should normalize therapy for grieving caregivers
Lauren Rhodewalt of Penn Medicine shares what spousal caregivers facing a loss need to know about navigating a path forward with therapy.
FULL STORY →