Jeffrey Shook, a Pitt associate professor of social work who has studied the lives of low-wage Pittsburgh workers over the past four years through surveys, said he found, at the start, that 64% of hospital workers faced a housing hardship and 59% faced a medical hardship like being unable to afford to see a doctor, while 59% experienced food insecurity like cutting meals or worrying their food will run out. To make ends meet, 51% reported relying on friends and family and 22% said they used pawn shops or payday loans. Read more in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Shook also testified at a Policy Hearing on the Healthcare Workforce Crisis in PA. You can read his testimony here.

Jaime Booth, PhD, associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work (GCSW Sustaining Sponsor), is working with colleagues from Pitt's School of Computing and Information on a new project to help harness technology for social good. Dr. Booth and her colleagues are partnering with GirlsGov for a Summer Leadership Academy. Read more.

Faculty members Amy DeGurian, Jeff Shook, and Christina Newhill will be presenting at the 2021 Diversity Forum. Doctoral alumnus Daniel Jacobson Lopez will also be presenting.

Amy DeGurian: Understanding One's Whiteness and Building Skills for Engaging in Dialogue to Dismantle Systematic Oppression

Jeff Shook: Underpaid in Pittsburgh?

Christina Newhill: Combatting Oppression in Transracial Adoption

Daniel Jacobson Lopez: Supporting Sexual Assault Survivors

Find full schedule and register here.