We’re all familiar with the title of social worker, but there’s a lot about this career that many folks might not be aware of. This Social Work Month, we spoke with Tony Fernandez, LCSW-S, CCM, about his experience helping his community navigate difficult life transitions and connecting them with important resources they rightfully deserve.
This year’s Social Work Month theme is “Empowering Social Workers!” as you read Tony’s interview, we can all remember our ability to support and empower each other by sharing resources and connecting folks to the services that they need.
We all know Social Work is a helping profession, but how would you define your role?
I became a social worker in order to make a difference in many areas and my concentration in graduate school was political social work and fought for change for years. Now I work with individuals to assist them in advocating for themselves in many different areas and also work with clients with mental health issues to work on handling their symptoms while navigating the world.
Do you have a success story that you’d like to share with us?
I worked with an 85 year old gay man that had recently lost his husband and his dog and had no family. He was disowned by his family in Oklahoma as a young man. I found his family in Oklahoma, reunited him with them and they moved him up to Oklahoma and he lived the remainder of his life catching up with family and re-establishing their relationships before he died. Moving him meant to get him home in order by cleaning up the home, throwing things away, and selling his home before he could move to assisted living in Oklahoma. This process was very difficult for him and he needed a lot of counseling to deal with his losses and his apprehension of re-establishing a relationship with family members that had treated him badly over 60 years ago.
What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?
The hardest part is being a social worker in Texas and not being able to get benefits for clients/patients due to political issues. It is very hard to tell people that these benefits do not exist because politicians do not value you as a person and will not allow funding to pay for your care.
What do you wish other people knew about Social Work and how can we as a community support the efforts of Social Workers?
I don't think people understand that social workers do so many different things and are not limited to basic level social services. We are change makers in politics, business development people, and therapists.
How does your experience in social work help you carry out your duties as the Vice President of the LGBT Council on Aging?
Not only am I a part of the LGBTQ+ Community but I am also starting to think about my aging and that the services are not up to speed when making senior services and communities more inclusive for my community. It is as simple as decorating for LGBTQ+ Pride Month and I still have senior living communities refusing to do this even though they celebrate all other holidays.
Is there a resource you’ve come across that you’re really excited to share with folks?
I get excited every time I assist a client/patient get a service/funding that they were not aware of because many Federal and state agencies do not automatically match people to services even though they are in the system because the government does not want more people to use the funds. Example: Someone that gets Social Security Disability or Retirement and they do not know that can get additional Medicaid assistance to pay for MCR premiums, deductible and copays if they financially qualify. Also, veterans that do not know that they qualify for VA Aid and Assistance Pension.
Tony Fernandez is an important member of his community, caring for all who walk through his door. We are proud to know him and spotlight him for this year’s Social Work Month and we hope you learned something about the many hats that social workers tend to wear and the importance of supporting their diligent work.
Tony runs a mailing list for social workers in the Houston area, if you’d like to be part of it or have other questions, he’s happy to help: [email protected]
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