Why Ferguson Matters to San Diego Social Workers

By Ernesto Guerrero II, 2nd Year MSW Student

The tragic event that occurred in Ferguson affected communities throughout the United States.
Many people were left scared while others were looking for answers. Social workers and other members of the community held an informal gathering to discuss how the events in Ferguson
are important to the communities in San Diego. NASW Director Janlee Wong and President
of San Diego NAACP, Lei-Chala Wilson, Esq., did a great job facilitating the event. The purpose
of the gathering was to figure out as a group what social workers and community members can
do to create change in the community and how to prevent the events in Ferguson from happening in San Diego.

Throughout the meeting, there were several themes and topics that social workers wanted more information on. People wanted clarity on the events that occurred and also wanted to know what steps were needed to be effective in the community. A great addition to the meeting involved the chief of police, which gave social workers and community leaders a chance to ask questions regarding how police officers are trained to handle certain situations. Other themes included anger, frustration, fear, and feeling powerless for the events that occurred in Ferguson among other events that have been happening throughout the United States. With that being said, others were also hopeful that change would occur.

The meeting was very effective and everyone left with a better understanding of what changes need to be made in order to prevent the events that occurred in Ferguson from happening in San Diego. Social workers need to attend more community meetings so that they can be better informed of what is going on in the community. Social workers and community leaders also need to be proactive in creating change so that communities feel safe. If everyone in the community works together toward the same goals, there is no doubt that change will occur.