#MacroSW: Perspectives on Gun Violence, Mental Health, and the Social Worker's Role

by Kristin Battista-Frazee, MSW, and Patricia Shelly, MSW

     This article is based on a #MacroSW Twitter chat on gun violence, mental health, and the social worker’s role. #MacroSW Twitter chats are held every Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern. For more information, check out https://macrosw.com. The New Social Worker is a #MacroSW media partner.

     One of the most popular #MacroSW chats of 2018, so far, was on the topic of Gun Violence, Mental Health, and the Social Worker’s Role. This chat was held in the wake of the Parkland school shooting, so interest was understandably high. One hundred and three people participated to generate 1,104 tweets to share ideas and strategies about how social workers can play an active role to prevent gun violence.

    It’s striking how gun violence now plays a prominent role in social work practice, from surviving the trauma and grief, to how one’s mental health is considered or not considered for gun ownership, to many other touchpoints. Social workers are now tasked with the almost impossible. We will apply common sense in the most ethical way possible against the growing stockpile of guns in our culture, with Americans owning nearly half of all guns worldwide. Loopholes after loopholes make it harder to deem gun buyers a danger to themselves or others, and gun shows sell firearms sans background check. Also, it is not the “bad guy with a gun” that we have to worry about when nearly two-thirds of deaths by gun violence are suicides.

    Despite social workers facing these obstacles, hope, solutions, and policy ideas were offered during this chat, along with new ways of thinking about gun violence.

    Chat participants suggested that shaping the rhetoric surrounding gun violence is an important role for social workers. Other ideas discussed included:

  • Adverse Childhood Experiences include trauma and violence in one’s community.
  • Promoting de-escalation training and continuing education for police officers can help reduce deaths by police shootings.  
  • Have school districts adopt “no guns on school property” policies.
  • Make sure we know and promote the Duty to Warn per the Tarasoff ruling.

    On March 24, two days after this chat, March For Our Lives rallies took place across the country. Many #MacroSW partners and tweeters participated, and it was a testament that the debate around gun violence is now elevated and just in time for the mid-term elections. Youth advocacy and a surge in voter registrations for this group may make the difference in passing gun control measures. At the very least, the conversation will continue.

Kristin Battista-Frazee, MSW, is a social worker, writer, and marketing and communications professional. Kristin is also the author of the memoir, The Pornographer’s Daughter and earned her MSW at the Columbia University School of Social Work. She is a #MacroSW chat partner. Patricia Shelly, MSW, is the Director of Community Engagement and Expansion at the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Social Work. She manages the Twitter account for @UBSSW (a founding partner in the weekly #MacroSW twitter chats) and promotes digital literacy for students and practitioners.