I am very pleased to see that my Alma Mater is working on a course that will train social workers at a master’s level to work with the military community, specifically. I am not sure what the studies focused on the unique needs of military families includes, but I plan on contacting them today to find out. Way to go USC-Columbia!
Course trains social workers on military issues
EXCERPTCOLUMBIA, S.C. — Army Reserve Capt. Chad Lauro wants to use his military experience to help those who bear the mental wounds of war. Kina Wilkening, an Air Force spouse whose pilot-husband was deployed for 273 days last year, calls military families “silent heroes” who need help, too.
Both are graduate students at the University of South Carolina, which is starting a new program to train social workers to assist the military, veterans and their families.
“I see it as my way of giving back,” said Lauro, 35, originally from Mechanicsburg, Pa., who served as a military logistics specialist and has been in two years of full-time course work to enter a new career.
Lauro, who works at Veterans Administration clinics as part of his studies, said he’s able to “speak the military language” after 18 years with the military and a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.
“I think there’s a great need. Not everyone comes back with (post-traumatic stress disorder), but there are many things I can do to help the military and veterans’ community,” Lauro said.
Wilkening, who lives near the joint Air Force and Navy base in Charleston and is originally from Austin, Texas, said she has seen firsthand how spouses and children of the military may need the assistance of social workers.
“You feel so alone. You just don’t know where to turn,” said the 27-year-old. “I think military spouses and families are the silent heroes on the home front.” READ MORE
