Thursday, March 27, 2025
As tax and budget cuts, deportations, and a flurry of executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion become the new norm, social workers find themselves on the frontlines of a growing crisis. In a recent op-ed for My Social Work News, Dr. Tami Gouveia, director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW), issues a powerful call to action. Gouveia outlines how policies stemming from Project 2025 and the America First Agenda are already having severe consequences for marginalized communities. Dr. Gouveia urges social workers to meet this moment with bold, collective leadership grounded in ethics and solidarity.
Excerpt from “America at a Crossroads” by Tami Gouveia, published in My Social Work News:
“This is just the beginning. It has been hard to watch and absorb that we are living in a new reality. Understandably, many who are in a position to say something or to take action are afraid to because of the very real repercussions. And sometimes, when the work day is done, it feels easier to look away and tune out.
But we must bear witness to the programs and aspects of civil society that are being decimated. Staying tuned in helps us better understand what we are losing, what we need to try to save, and what we will need to rebuild when the embers of the scorched earth approach taken by the new administration and DOGE eventually flame out.”