Dr. Nev Jones receives large NIMH grant

University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work Assistant Professor Nev Jones, along with Lisa Dixon (Columbia University & New York State Psychiatric Institute) and Howard Goldman (University of Maryland School of Medicine) have received a new $3.6 million grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health for their project "Optimizing Disability Benefit Decisions and Outcomes in First Episode Psychosis." Read more.

Welcome to the New CRSP Associate Director Ron Idoko!

Ron Idoko will be joining the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work as the new Associate Director for the Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP). Idoko has worked for many years at the University's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. He has been the driving force behind the annual Diversity Forum and has spearheaded and led the Racial Equity Consciousness Series. He also has a range of well-developed and critical ideas and plans around the broader concept of social equity and the ways that universities can work to utilize research, education, and praxis to advance social change. Read more.

Annual Youth Retreat held at Pitt-Johnstown

The Child Welfare Education and Research Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work hosted the annual Older Youth Retreat for older youth in foster care or who have recently aged out of the system from August 2-5 at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown campus. About 64 young people, ages 16-20, from 24 Pennsylvania counties attended this year. Read more.

Watch the 2022 Older Youth Retreat video

Looking for in-person volunteer opportunities? 2 new options

Volunteers are needed for the 22nd Annual Mon Valley HIV/AIDS Awareness Walk on Saturday, October 1, 2022. The Walk will be held at the Human Services Center, 519 Penn Avenue Turtle Creek, PA 15145. Volunteers are needed from 8:00am – 12:00pm. 

If you or anyone you know may be interested in volunteering, please contact Abbie at 412-436-9537 or agodollei@hscc-mvpc.org. You can find more information about the Walk on their website.

It’s time for Civic Action Week at Pitt!

This year, events are taking place on Saturday, October 22, from 8AM to 3PM.

We are excited to be supporting the Mulford Community Teaching Garden. 

Operating since 2008, these flower and vegetable gardens remove blight in Homewood South.

Volunteers are needed for garden and playground clean up.

Please use this link to sign up no later than Monday, October 3!

SWAG award nominations open!

Call for Nominations are open until 10/7!

The mission of the SWAG Awards is to honor the “heart work” of local social work heroes that is oftentimes unappreciated and unrecognized. The goal of the annual SWAG awards ceremony is to recognize social workers in the Greater Pittsburgh Area who exemplify servant leadership through their commitment to promoting advocacy, social justice, generational healing and building stronger communities. 

Show your appreciation by nominating that social worker who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make life better for our communities during these challenging times. Nominate someone today!

Publications: September 2022

• Assistant Professor Nev Jones: Colder Carras, M., Machin, K., Brown, M., Marttinen, T. L., Maxwell, C., Frampton, B., ... & Jones, N. (2022). Strengthening Review and Publication of Participatory Mental Health Research to Promote Empowerment and Prevent Co-optation. Psychiatric Services.
• Assistant Professor Nev Jones: Roe, D., Slade, M., & Jones, N. (2022). The utility of patient‐reported outcome measures in mental health. World Psychiatry, 21(1), 56. 
• Assistant Professor Nev Jones: van der Ven, E., Jones, N., Bareis, N., Scodes, J. M., Dambreville, R., Ngo, H., ... & Wall, M. M. (2022). An intersectional approach to ethnoracial disparities in pathways to care among individuals with psychosis in Coordinated Specialty Care. Jama Psychiatry. 
• Assistant Professor Nev Jones: Kimhy, D., Jones, N., & Dixon, L. (2022). Investing in a research workforce with personal experience of serious mental illness. JAMA Psychiatry. 
• Assistant Professor Nev Jones: Aftab, A., Collings, S., & Jones, N. (2022). Beyond binary narratives of mental health advocacy: Latent profiles of mental health activists and advocates with lived experience. Psychiatric Services. 
• PhD student Cortney VanHook: Inequities in Anticipatory Stress of Police Brutality and Depressed Mood Among Women. Study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
• PhD student Cortney VanHook: Subtypes of Bullying and Types of Substance Use among Urban African American Adolescents: Who Is Likely to Use What? Study published in Social Work in Public Health.

Save the Date: 2022 Browne Leadership Poster Gallery

Please visit the 2022 Browne Leadership Poster Gallery to see and hear about their experiences in community action and service.

October 12, 2022

3:30-5:30pm

2017 Cathedral of Learning

2022 Inaugural Race &... Conference

The Race &... Conference elevates the work of the University's race-related centers (including the Center on Race and Social Problems), the health sciences, and Africana Studies.  The conference will promote collaboration between the centers and departments (also known as the Center of Centers) and provide a platform to engage in dialogue to create pathways of connection and empowerment. The theme of the conference will explore how the Center of Centers’ collaboration can impact Black life in Pittsburgh. The conference will convene on Friday, September 30, 2022, from 9:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the University Club. Register Here.