World Social Work Day is an opportunity to highlight the varied roles of social workers at Portland District Health and recognise their work in the community.
PDH CEO Samantha Sharp said social workers provide a breadth of support and services to our community. Social work is very close to Sam’s heart as she once provided social work support to the Glenelg region.
PDH has three social workers, all specialising in different fields and providing services to a wide cross-section of people.
Lisa Forbes is a generalist counsellor, bringing 20 years of health and rural community social work experience to the role.
Ms Forbes provides counselling across a broad perspective, helping people with grief and loss concerns, general life support around changes in work or finances, and those with mild or moderate mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
“It’s to help with whatever is causing the person stress and to give them ways to manage that stress,” Ms Forbes said.
Social worker Steve Bywood has been with PDH since last September in a parental leave position.
Mr Bywood previously worked in the corrections field in South Australia and with people needing to access the NDIS. “It’s similar work because many of the people I work with here have the same types of concerns as people in the prison system or on NDIS; such as housing, anxiety, depression and anger issues,” he said.
He is also helping people with NDIS applications in his PDH role.
Marg Pitts is an alcohol and other drug (AOD) counsellor and was attracted to the role to extend on her extensive career in social work and to have an impact on the lives of local people.
“My role is to support people who have identified that they have an alcohol or other drug issue,” she said. “It can affect all parts of their lives.”
Ms Pitts concentrates on providing treatment and education in a respectful, non-judgemental way to help people create a healthier lifestyle. She can also refer clients to mental health and extra social work support.
The theme for World Social Work Day 2023 is Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action.
If you need the help of a social worker, contact the PDH Allied Health Intake team on 5522 1410 and choose option 3.
