Wisconsin Women in Government (WWIG), a statewide, bipartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting women who serve the public in government at all levels, recognized the many contributions to public service and child welfare by School of Social Work alum Julie Ahnen with its Legacy Award for her “significant, lasting contributions to government through …
In 2025, 24% of homeless people were part of families with children. When these families face a medical crisis, such as a parent recovering from surgery or a complicated birth, they are often discharged from the hospital to the streets or to shelters not equipped to handle their medical recovery. To address this need, JustDane, …
Assistant professor and researcher, Dr. Weidi Qin, was initially inspired to investigate the reasons that older Mexican Americans experience higher than average poor health outcomes, including cognitive decline and disability, during a summer immersion program at the University of Michigan in 2023. While there, she had access to the largest dataset focused on older Mexican …
Assistant Professor, Dr. Callie Freitag, became interested in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) while working as a policy analyst in California. She explained that SSI is a cash assistance program in the form of monthly checks. In order to qualify for SSI, a person needs to be low-income and have low assets as well as either …
Assistant Professor Dr. Jessica Pac was awarded the prestigious Vilas Associates Competition Award. This university-wide award recognizes new and ongoing research of the highest quality and significance. In addition to her role as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, Dr. Pac is a Faculty Affiliate of the …
A mental health crisis can be a stressful and frightening experience for people living with mental illness and their loved ones, and being able to access effective and compassionate services can make all the difference. In Wisconsin, people experiencing a mental health crisis often have to turn to police, which can escalate into a dangerous …
“We’re just catching folks where we can and trying to make sure that we all survive.” That’s how one advocate described their work with survivors of sexual violence. In the U.S., 54% of women, 31% of men, and 41% of transgender and non-binary people have experienced sexual assault. Rates for people of color, those who …
PhD candidate, Helenia Quince, has long been interested in maternal health and the bond between infants and caregivers. While combing through data from a research project with Milwaukee’s African American Breastfeeding Network, she realized that many Black women had experienced traumatic birthing events and losses, and that this might impact their mental health. She also …
PhD student Nahime Guadalupe Aguirre Mtanous, was recently featured as a guest on the LWC Studios podcast, “100 Latina Birthdays,” to discuss neurodivergence in the Latine community. Nahime shared her expertise based on extensive practice experience working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and providing mental health therapy to neurodivergent adults as well as …
Jerry Brandell, MSSW ’77, (also PhD, University of Chicago), recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work. The award recognizes his “contributions to clinical social work and psychoanalysis” and was presented at its 2025 Biennial Conference held in Austin, Texas. Jerry has been a social work educator and clinical mental health practitioner for many years. He was a distinguished faculty …