To help get the word out and give students another post-graduation career option, Families United Network CEO Ron Simon visited Williamsport Area Senior High School Tuesday to speak directly to them about what the organization does, as well as available careers in the broader field of social work.

“It’s tough when you’re in high school trying to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. Sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure,” Simson.

“The social worker in me obviously wants to help take some of that pressure away,” he said.

“March is Social Work Month, so I want to talk about the field of social work a little bit and how it’s really been a great profession for me,” the CEO said.

Families United Network is a nonprofit statewide organization, headquartered in Muncy.

“Our focus is on taking care of individuals, children and families, and we do that through four core services on our campus in Lycoming County,” Simon explained.

“We have two residential group homes where we serve teenage young ladies that are having a difficult time being in a home with a family, and in a lot of these cases, that’s because of trauma that they’ve experienced. But they’ll come and they’ll stay with us in our homes, and we’ll get them back on the right track,” Simon said.

“We have locations throughout the entire state that serve just about every region, and we have between 150 and160 employees,” he explained.

“We’re a trauma informed agency certified in that because just about every individual that we work with, they’ve gone through some type of trauma in their life, and if the help is given and if it’s quick, people can get back on track and overcome their trauma with the right help and support. That’s why it’s important work,” Simon stressed.

Other services of the organization include foster care services, as well as adoption and permanency services.

“We also have a newer program called peer services, both family and individual, that helps people more with behavioral health issues,” Simon said.

Families United Networks collaborates with several local entities in accomplishing their mission, including Children and Youth Services, juvenile probation departments and the Mental Health and Developmental Services joinder in each county.

A particularly important aspect of helping those they serve heal from trauma is getting them the help they need as quickly as possible, something the recent shortages in the field have made difficult.

“The services are there, but it’s hard when we don’t have people to provide the services,” he said.

“Just about every school district in Pennsylvania now wants to hire social workers, and it’s a great opportunity for the students, it’s a great opportunity for the social workers, but we need the people with the qualified degrees to be there to treat them,” Simon stressed.

“Across our country, colleges and universities have seen a decrease in enrollment, and I think that contributes to enrollment in social work majors being down right now. But that’s what makes it such a greater opportunity for students, moving forward,” he said.

Simon stressed to the students that beginning in one discipline does not mean being locked in for life, noting that he double majored in psychology and English as an undergraduate, before attaining his masters degree in social work.

Driving home how impactful the job of a social worker can be, Simon told the story of talking someone through a suicide crisis.

“After they got treatment, they came back to me at my office and thanked me and that really touched my heart,” he said.

“With social work, you make a difference. You enjoy what you do. And, there’s a shortage, so it’s one of the best fields to go into right now,” Simon said to the students.

“I’m so proud to say last year, we had two graduates of our program that graduated high school. They lived with us over the summer, and we moved them into their dorm room in the fall. One was majoring in psychology or social work, and the other one was majoring in early elementary education. And this year, we have another resident that was accepted into college,” he said.

The field of social work is open to graduates from many different disciplines, Simon stressed to the students.

“Some people major in criminal justice, some in psychology and some people major in social work,” he said.

Though supervisory and other positions require at least a bachelor’s degree, there are several entry level spots at Families United Network that can be attained with only a high school diploma, including youth advocates, also referred to as direct support professionals, that work at the job center at the group home. Applicants for that position must also be at least 21-years-old, Simon told the students.

“We also have jobs available in our Muncy location, and throughout the state, like our adoption and permanency caseworker positions. We have foster care case worker positions,” he said.

“And then we have jobs that are outside of the field too, for people that work in our accounting office, that help with the books and pay the bills, we have human resources, we have facilities and we have transporter positions available,” Simon said.

“The most important thing is to believe in yourself. Don’t let anybody tell you you’re not good enough, or you can’t do it,” he told the students.

Above all else social workers should be motivated to, and strive towards improving the lives of others,” Simon told the assembled students, quoting Victorian-era novelist George Eliot.

“I have a picture that hangs in my house that says, ‘what are we here for, if not, to make life less difficult for each other,” he said.

“I try to look at that every day and realize the difference I make,” Simon said.

“Empathy, compassion, the desire to help people, being a good listener, those are some of the biggest skill sets that are important in social work,” he said.