In society, mental health plays a very important part of everybody’s lives. Mental health can affect a person’s relationship with someone, their motivation to complete activities throughout their days, and their overall mood.
Social work is something that can help with personal challenges that a person is experiencing. It promotes social welfare, helps people face challenges, and supports all diverse backgrounds and influences social and economic justice. When a person is struggling, whether it’s mental health, addiction, disabilities, or medical, social work is positioned to support all these members, a part of the community and more. It’s important for there to be a position that is “helping vulnerable people and communities work through challenges they face in everyday life” (School of Social Work).
Everyone at a point in their life needs guidance. When teenagers face many changes with their bodies, hormones, relationships, and school, they have become more vulnerable and need more attention. Social work is necessary in school districts because it provides easy access for students to receive guidance for their challenges in case they don’t have a trusted adult they could speak up to.
At New Hartford Senior High School, mental health is something that is very well taken care of. Mrs. Hoyer, a social worker at the NHCSD, is a very strong advocate for students. The steps of her becoming a social worker started when a close individual in her life recommended she explore the profession. She went through a 4-year bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree in social work. She had to take a licensing exam and also was required to supervise in clinics for three years. After she completed that, she received her license for social work and pursued her life in the job she is currently in.
As Mrs. Hoyer has worked years in New Hartford, she’s analyzed and observed different techniques that helped students overcome their problems. Mrs. Hoyer thinks, “cognitive behavioral therapy works best to help students take their thoughts, actions, and feelings and align them to identify how they’re feeling” (Hoyer). Mrs. Hoyer is very passionate about her job and thinks that the New Hartford Central School District does a fantastic job focusing on the mental health of students and making sure everyone apart of the district is comfortable and confident in having an adult they can open up to.
Caitlin Greene, a student at New Hartford, thinks very highly of Mrs. Hoyer and also stated how she is very liked by other students. Not only does Caitlin think she is a phenomenal worker, she also enjoys talking to her as a person outside of her job.
“She impacts a lot of students’ lives positively. She is always a reliable adult to talk to when needed,” Caitlin said.
Mrs. Hoyer is understanding and easy to talk to– she also puts people’s problems into different perspectives and goes into depth with them. When Caitlin was dealing with a lot, Mrs. Hoyer gave advice on how to go the healthy route of her life and to take a step back and focus on herself. When she would talk about her problems, she enjoyed playing with the fidget toys Mrs. Hoyer provides in her office because she believes it helped with her anxiety.
Mr. Romanow, the dean of students, believes the high school is very lucky to have two social workers. He shares that Mr. Scalzo and Mrs. Hoyer are an amazing fit for their job because of how positive they are and the passion they have for students’ well-being. Mr. Romanow strongly feels they are great human beings that are “solution-oriented and make kids feel positive about coming to school every day” .
The New Hartford Central High School’s investment in providing social workers for students has played a positive role in students’ lives. Teenagers’ mental health has improved and kids learned how to open up more due to the peers they have at the school. New Hartford works strongly to make sure not only students, but staff have someone to talk to. They provide guidance and lead people in the New Hartford community to the right path. For more information, you can visit their office on the second floor in room
