The FAMCare Blog

The recent passing of beloved TV personality Anthony Bourdain and fashion icon Kate Spade has pushed suicide back into the cultural dialogue spotlight. Social workers who work in suicide prevention every day remind us, however, that suicide is, and always has been, part of the human condition and not the dramatic exception that celebrity suicide seems to suggest.

Jim Langford, born and raised in the small town of Calhoun, is a faithful son of Georgia. After earning an MBA from the Harvard Business School, Jim went on to create a $2.5 billion technology company with a team of fellow alums. Then he turned his efforts to public service and began his tireless work for a better Georgia by writing the legislation to preserve Georgia’s Native American archaeological sites threatened by looters and development. Later, as head of Georgia’s Trust for Public Lands, Langford spearheaded the development of the Atlanta BeltLine, a series of multiuse paths and parks running in a rough loop around the city’s center.

Charter schools and school choice are no longer experiments. Nationwide, they have become important components of public education. Since this blog began a discussion of educational improvement almost two years ago, we have heard from countless educators, administrators, and social workers both pro and con on school choice and the advantages and disadvantages of charter schools. Today we would like to catalogue the input we have received to give you an overview of what education professionals are saying about this all-important public policy issue.

When we’re very busy taking care of other people, it’s easy to overlook the need to take care of ourselves. But self-care is vitally important for making sure you’re up to the challenges of being a caregiver. In order to be there for your loved ones and handle all your responsibilities, you need to keep up your health and energy levels. Here are some tips for making time for yourself in your everyday life.

Guns in the United States

• In 2016, firearms were responsible for more than 38,000 deaths and over 116,000 nonfatal gunshot wounds in the United States.
• The United States owns approximately 250 million guns, nearly one for each citizen, and grows about 7 million each year.
• Each year, the United States has a bit over 8,000 murders with firearms.
• According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a total of 346 mass shootings (5 or more victims) occurred in the U.S. in 2017.
• As of May 17th 2018, 101 mass shootings have already occurred this year.  

Social Work Today magazine has just published the top ten list of social workers who were nominated by their peers for outstanding performance in the past year. We are proud to reprint these inspirational comments from the finalists in their own words.

The CEOs of nonprofit agencies have always faced challenges that are uniquely theirs. These difficulties continue to change and evolve as both the industry and those who nonprofits aim to help do so as well. Even within the past five or 10 years, these challenges have proven to be unlike any others faced in years past.

A Former Disney Employee Tells This Story

Yeweinisht Mesfin went missing in November 2016. Her fellow Disneyland employees found her in her car in a gym parking lot. She lived in her car and that gym parking lot was her home. She would use the gym to shower and use the restroom. After suffering a heart attack, she died in her car waiting for someone to find her.