News Archive
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To say that William Vega is a man in demand would be a bit of an understatement.
As a Provost Professor at USC, he holds appointments in psychiatry, preventive medicine, family medicine, psychology, and gerontology, not to mention his main role at the USC School of Social Work, where he serves as executive director of the Roybal Institute on Aging.
“It’s an all-out effort and it’s taking all my energy and aspirations,” he acknowledged. “I’ve been more than willing to do it because I feel it’s part of my mission here.”
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Steven Su sits at his desk as an inmate pounds his knuckles against it, yelling he wishes he could kill someone, anyone.
In a confidential, one-on-one setting, Su often worries about his patients’ violent reactions.
Su, MSW ‘13, goes to a maximum-security prison every day. As a clinical social worker for the California Institution for Men, a 2,500-acre state prison located in Chino, California, he works with patients with psychosis, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, among other mental illnesses.
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The Los Angeles Unified School District is identifying students whose parents are on active military duty, city and district officials announced at Leland Street Elementary in San Pedro.
LAUSD is the largest school district in the country to ask whether a student has a parent serving on active duty or as a veteran or with the National Guard or Reserves, said USC School of Social Work Professor Ron Avi Astor, who researches the needs of children with ties to the military.
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On any given day at USC Telehealth, the phone will ring and a desperate parent of a child with special needs will reach out for help. They are trying to be the best caregivers they can to their son or daughter, but their resilience and resources have been stretched thin. They know they need someone to talk to, but publicly funded mental health care is geared toward the individual with special needs, leaving no supportive services for the overburdened caregiver.
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A $500,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will support a new program of research at the USC School of Social Work to identify community assets that support pathways to resilience for young children and their families.
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Ivy Hammond graduated from the USC School of Social Work in May 2015, becoming the first recipient of the Matthew Holland Scholarship in Social Work to receive a master’s in social work. Established in 2012 by Board of Councilors member Mark Spratt, MSW/MPA ’03, the Matthew Holland Scholarship in Social Work, named in honor of Spratt’s partner, is awarded to students who have demonstrated a commitment to LGBTQ matters through academic work, community involvement and other personal contributions.
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When Margaux Helvey began her search for a master’s program, she was looking for an opportunity to combine her strengths in business strategy and management with social impact. She found it at the University of Southern California, one of the few institutions at the time that offered a dual degree in social work and business administration.
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The National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (NCSCB) at the USC School of Social Work has received a $1 million grant from the New York Life Foundation, a continuation of funding that will allow the NCSCB to expand its services, in particular the Coalition to Support Grieving Students.
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Nationwide, the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) estimates that there are four million children whose parents have served our country since 9/11. The vast majority of children in veteran and military families are being educated in civilian public schools. These families and students are resilient, proud, and idealistic, but many have also borne the burdens of this long and intense military conflict. The entire family serves when there is a war.
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The Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families at the USC School of Social Work has received two gifts totaling $125,000 to support local efforts aimed at making Los Angeles the most veteran-friendly place in the country.