Dear Friends of Social Workers,

Thank you.

Trust me when I say you are a treasure in the midst of our mess. You sit patiently and graciously while we rant about the injustice we see daily. You laugh with us as we tell some of the most unbelievable stories imaginable. And you don’t judge us when we can’t decide if we want to cry or just drink half a bottle of wine.

It takes a special person to be friends with a social worker. To avoid having pity on our clients and instead see them as we do—magnificently strong and absolutely capable of restoration—can be a challenging task. To be comfortable with uncomfortable conversations, because Lord knows we aren’t going to avoid them. To see us at our most broken and hopeless, and love us even more fiercely. 

We treasure you deeply. We couldn’t be sustainable in our work without you. You remind us of the reasons why we continue when we have all but given up. The simple encouragement that we can keep going—these are the words we cling tightly to in the moments when we are thinking ‘maybe I could be a barista, that seems less stressful?’

You are a gift, and there are not enough words to fully describe how grateful we are for you. Thank you for being one phone call or text away, for celebrating our milestones and successes with us. Thank you for being understanding when we just want to hide from the world for a night. Thank you for praying for us, because sometimes our jobs feel like we are entering a battlefield. Thank you for being steadfast, full of grace, and exactly what we need when things feel like they’re falling apart.

We love you so dearly,

Social Workers