Social Work Students Share Knowledge

Published May 5, 2016

Graduating students from the School of Social Work are holding the first ever Community and Research Student Poster Presentation showcasing students’ intensive community and thesis projects that have contributed to the Long Beach community and broader field of social work.

The event will highlight the meaningful work that students engage in and what people of the community can do to make a difference. Projects cover a variety of social issues affecting Long Beach residents including substance abuse, child welfare, access to higher education, poverty and truancy.

“The interventions take strengths based approaches to reducing these social issues and are truly adding to the vision of an ‘Urban Land Grant’ university from a social work perspective contributing to the City of Long Beach and its residents,” assistant professor of social work Kristina Lopez said via email.

Todd Stevens, one of the graduates presenting at the event, has taken to the streets of Long Beach to speak to local businesses about homelessness. Stevens’ work has led to a panel discussion between local business owners and community officials on how to address the problem. His research was written about in an article by Downtown Long Beach.

In addition to thesis project presentations, the event will include a special program and speakers from the community. The event takes place on Friday, May 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the lower level of the SSPA building.

Written by Michael Colbert