Our Future Is Formed By Today's Choices

 Senate Bill 1604 is a powerfully basic establishment of two critical programs that address the shortage of qualified social work professional across Illinois by providing a stipend for school social work internship and grants to higher education institutions to support social work field placement.    It is up to us to make sure it passes.  Our elected officials need to be held accountable to working for the people who elected them to office and not only for their own special interest.   Senate Bill 1604 is in the best interest of the general public now and in the future.   

Currently there is a shortage of behavioral health workers across the country.  The need for behavioral health workers has increased.   Social workers are needed  in the schools  especially in vulnerable populations.  There are at lease 200 open school social work positions across the state of Illinois.  This means valuable services and interventions are not being utilized because the positions are vacant.   Harming our most valuable future commodity -our children.   The  aging population and the opioid epidemic are areas I which social workers are needed desperately to assist older persons by providing interventions, mental health counseling and serving as a resource liaison.   Mental health services provided by social workers can have a gamet of specialties including substance use counseling.  The  homeless and the incarcerated are areas in which the demand for social workers is heavy and increasing.  

Social workers have a shortage due to the high educational requirements, lack of funding or incentives for workers in rural areas, significant professional demands and complex  challenges.  Senate Bill 1604 will address financial barriers to the educational attainment as well as the shortage of workers which will help with some of the professional demands and challenges.   Currently students have to complete 400 hours of field placement or internship.   That must be done while paying for the class that requires the field placement.  Often these field placement are unpaid.   Most students are working to help fund school and non traditional students like me have to work full time while attending classes part time.  Will I need to reduce my paying job hours to get the field placement hours I need? That is the dilemma many students find themselves in.   Paying to learn on a job that would normally have someone being paid to due.   It is an unfair barrier to attaining soil work degrees and certifications.   

Some will argue that there is no money in the budget.   I say to those arguments that we either find the money now to get qualified professionals in place where they are needed or we pay later with the results of not having qualified social workers who serve as mental and behavioral health professionals as well as caring for our most vulnerable populations, the elderly and poor,  and our greatest assets for our future-our children in schools who can thrive and be successful with proper interventions from school age instead of later mental health or incarceration or being non productive members of society.  The choice is ours pay now for better mental health services or pay later for more emergency room visits, hospital stays, homelessness, substance abuse, crime and incarceration.  

Fight for our future communities now by raising your voices.  Call your state senator.  Email your representative. Talk about this bill.   Post on social media about what is going on.  Demand a government that works for all of us in this great state of Illinois.  You can find your elected officials here https://www.elections.il.gov/electionoperations/districtlocator/districtofficialsearchbyaddress.aspx.  Let them know that you support SB 1604.  Please pass it.  Our students, children and communities deserve better.

UIS Students Deserve Better Mental Health Support on Campus

 There was a night I won’t forget, not because something major happened, but because I sat in my car after a long day of work, classes, and parenting, and felt completely emotionally drained. I stared at my phone wondering if I should reach out for help, but I didn’t. Not because I didn’t need it, but because the last time I tried, I hit roadblocks, waitlists, automated replies, and silence.

That quiet moment of exhaustion isn't just mine. It’s a reality for many students at the University of Illinois Springfield. We are expected to juggle academics, jobs, families, and personal lives, but when it comes to support, especially mental health, too many of us are left to carry the load alone.

We know that mental health struggles on college campuses are rising. The Healthy Minds Study (Lipson et al., 2023) reports that over 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health concern. But this isn’t just a number. It’s the classmate who stopped showing up. It’s the group member who never replied. It’s you. It’s me.

What we currently have on campus is not enough. Students talk about long waits to see a counselor, a lack of diverse support options, and feeling like mental health is an afterthought. When help isn’t accessible, the message we hear is: “Your struggles aren’t urgent enough.” That is not okay.

If a student broke a leg, we wouldn’t ask them to limp for weeks while waiting to be seen. Yet emotional wounds often go untreated until they become crisis. That’s a failure of compassion. And regardless of your political beliefs, compassion and responsibility are values we all share. Conservatives often emphasize personal responsibility, well, how can students be responsible for their success when their mental health is neglected? Liberals stress equity, how is it fair that some students have to drop out or suffer silently because support isn’t available?

We deserve a campus culture that prioritizes mental well-being. Not just in words or awareness events, but in staffing more counselors, offering after-hours services, and making mental health support as normal and accessible as academic advising.

Here’s what I’m asking you to do:
Email your student representatives. Attend SGA meetings. Share your experiences. Demand that UIS invest in better mental health resources. Even just telling your story can help change the narrative and show decision-makers that this isn’t a side issue, it’s central to our success.

Mental health isn't a luxury. It's a necessity. And it’s time UIS treats it that way.

References
Lipson, S. K., Zhou, S., Abelson, S., Heinze, J., Jirsa, M., Morigney, J., Patterson, A., Singh, M., & Eisenberg, D. (2023). The Healthy Minds Study: 2022-2023 Data Report. Healthy Minds Network. https://healthymindsnetwork.org/research/data-reports/

Springfield Must Be a Sanctuary

 In 2025, many marginalized groups are experiencing increased discrimination in policy, rhetoric and access to resources. Opinions on immigration are varied and often polarize debates, with some legislators calling for implementation of policy to cooperate with and assist the federal government in locating and detaining undocumented immigrants and others scrambling to draft and pass policies that refuse and resist federal deportation operations in their communities. While immigration has been a major topic of division among citizens and lawmakers in different eras in the United States, Donald Trump and his administration have created the most aggressive anti-immigration policy in the nation’s history. Primary reasons for the tactics used to identify, detain and deport undocumented (and also documented) immigrants have been cited as alleged criminality, espionage, negative tax influence, disproportionate resource consumption and employment acquisition of immigrants in the United States (EO 14159, 2025).

To consider any of these assertions to be truthful, is to believe harmful misinformation. It’s critical to identify myths and prioritize facts to the contrary. Though there are beliefs that immigrants deprive non-immigrants of job opportunities, they actually contribute significantly to job creation, and with over 7 million available jobs and relatively low unemployment rates, immigrants also contribute to significant need for workforces. Beliefs about immigrants contributing significant tax burden are also unfounded, with refugees and asylees alone contributing approximately $581 billion to the economy and paid over $89 billion in local and federal taxes in 2023. One of the most dangerous and popular myths about immigration is that immigrants contribute significantly to crime in America. This couldn’t be further from the truth, with research consistently finding that there is no correlation between immigration and increased crime rates and, in some instances, immigration has been shown to decrease crime rates (Immigrants Make the US Stronger, 2025). 

While the above facts should be well-known and responsibly distributed, they are not as effectively distributed as they should be and the myths are established and distributed by the executive office and supportive media, social media and citizens. The cost of this reckless assertion of ignorance and aggression is felt most by the people who need to be in America for their well-being and safety and that of their loved ones as well. The rights of asylum-seekers and refugees are protected in the American constitution and the current executive orders violate these rights, as well as international laws. The capture, detainment and deportation of these particularly vulnerable individuals places them in grave and immediate danger and separates many of them from their families, despite legislative and voter support to the contrary. In an internationally infamous case in 2025, one such person was kidnapped from his home in the middle of the night and deported to El Salvador in an expedited process which ended in his placement in one of the deadliest mega-prisons in El Salvador.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was abducted by ICE agents from his home the night of March 12, 2025, in response to an accusation that he is a member of the El Salvadoran gang, MS-13. This allegation is based on a confidential informant who claimed Abrego Garcia had been a member of the gang in New York. Abrego Garcia has never lived in New York, and he has received no criminal convictions in any country. He was granted protections from deportation by an immigration judge based on the likelihood that he could be harmed in El Salvador. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has admitted that Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake, but the White House has made many statements against Mr. Abrego Garcia that do not reflect any admittance of error. An ongoing struggle between the executive and judicial branches of government have led to Mr. Abrego Garcia being moved from the mega-prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), to a detention center in Santa Ana, El Salvador, but it is unclear whether Abrego Garcia will ever be released from custody in El Salvador and the White House continues to insist that he is an active member of MS-13, and a terrorism threat to the United States. The White House has also made statements that Kilmar Abrego Garcia will never live in the United States again and that he will be immediately deported if he ever returns, despite an order by the Supreme Court that DOJ facilitate his return. His wife and three children are American citizens and may never see their loved one again if he is not allowed to return to the United States (Habeshian, 2025).

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was one of many immigrants with protected status who are under threat, both in their countries of origin and in the United States, despite having legal protections for their well-being. Many of them, like Abrego Garcia are law-abiding, have not been convicted of any crimes, and uphold the responsibilities of their immigration status dutifully. It is our responsibility, as a country which has written into the fabric of its policies a determination and dedication to protecting those who come here seeking safety and opportunity, to protect them in their time of need. The executive orders of the White House do not reflect the values of the majority and they must be challenged at each level of authority and by every person who is an ally to immigrants. State and local arresting agencies have been receiving messages to cooperate with and assist ICE in the capture and detainment of people who are suspected to be in the country illegally. They have been urged and even ordered to accommodate ICE operations against immigrants by providing and employing their resources to said operations.

Ideally, the United States would unanimously establish an intention, code and implementation of law which honors the rights and opportunities of all immigrants, but the actions of Mr. Trump and his supporters do not inspire confidence that this is the case or will be any time during this presidency. While the current actions against immigrants and international cooperation are extreme in comparison, there have been other government actions against immigrants in the United States at the executive and judicial levels. It is crucial that state, municipal and local governments establish official and permanent status as sanctuary cities by setting permanent jurisdiction which limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities and supply of personnel or resources to support operations by federal immigration authorities. This way, human beings stand a greater chance of remaining safely and securely in their homes, with their loved ones, and their rights and dignity intact and protected.  

Many immigrants are facing persecution in the United States, both by the government which has sworn to defend them and by citizens who have been emboldened by the actions of a fascist occupation of the federal government. It is the duty of the people to hold local, state, federal, judicial and executive powers accountable for the values they claim to embody and enforce. It is the duty of the people to establish, in written and enforced policy and in community action, robust and thorough safeguards for immigrants in the United States. America benefits from the people who come here to live their lives in safety and to contribute to the success and strength of their new home. This country belongs to the people and very few who live here, legally or otherwise, got here without someone immigrating here before them or with them in tow. It is time to ensure that what is happening in this country right now never happens in the United States ever again. If America truly is an example for the rest of the world to follow, it stands to reason that the rest of the world ought to feel safe and welcome on American soil. 

References

Combatting Disinformation: Immigrants Make the U.S. Stronger. (2025, May 10). Global Refuge. https://www.globalrefuge.org/get-involved/advocate-with-us/disinformation/EO 

Habeshian, S. (2025, April 30). Timeline: The case of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Axios Politics & Policy. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/14/timeline-kilmar- abrego-garcia-deported-caseMishell, Z. (2025, March 3). Trump’s Executive Orders: What Do They Mean and How We Can Fight Back. Interfaith Alliance Achieving Democracy Together. https://www.interfaithalliance.org/post/trumps-executive-orders 

Rose, J. (2025, April 11). Maryland judge again asks government to return man wrongly deported to El Salvador. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/11/nx-s1-5361148/maryland-judge-mistaken-deportation 

14159, FR Citation: 90 FR 8443. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential- actions/2025/01/protecting-the-american-people-against-invasion/

The Future of Social Work: Supporting SB1604

Starting and completing a college education is not an easy feat, and this is especially true for social work students here in Illinois. As a social work student myself, I have seen the stress that trying to finish an undergraduate degree can cause. As a requirement to complete a social work degree, the student will normally finish around 400-420 hours of work in a field placement. A field placement means that the student will be working in an agency under the supervision of a fully qualified professional. This adds up to around 30 hours a week of work. However, it is important to note that all of this work is unpaid. On top of the 400 hours of unpaid work, the student will also have to pay the tuition for the actual fieldwork class. In many of my classes, I have classmates who are non-traditional students going back for a degree who already work full-time jobs and have families to support. Unfortunately, for them to be able to finish their education, they will have to put their paid work on the back burner for their field placement. Whether this means completely quitting a job or simply cutting the hours spent at work, a great amount of income will be lost while the student completes their field placement. For families who completely depend on their income, they will be struggling financially for months until they can return to work. 

There is a solution to this ongoing issue of getting more students to finish their social work degree. The solution is Senate Bill 1604. This bill states that schools can apply for grants to give their students stipends to cover tuition and the cost of their work. This would greatly help in the field of social work, as it would allow more students to comfortably finish their education without having to sacrifice financial resources. Not only would this bill allow more students to finish their education, but it would also make the field of social work more appealing to the masses. As of now, there is a severe shortage of social workers across almost every specialty. There is a great need for school social workers, as our state is seeing a deficit of jobs that we cannot seem to fill. Our schools are struggling, and having more school social workers will help our children and their futures. This will also provide more workers in the much-needed and vast growing fields of mental healthcare and senior healthcare. Many students will turn away from the field of social work when looking for an occupation simply because of the sheer commitment it takes to complete the degree. Having to finish 400 hours as an unpaid internship is a great barrier that is in the way of allowing the field of social work to flourish. By supporting Senate Bill 1604, you will be supporting the quality of life of future generations. 

Substance Abuse

 A big problem that is happening in the United States and America is substance abuse and the lack of support that is provided for those that struggle with substance abuse. Across the globe, about 35 million people suffer from some form of substance abuse, yet usually only 1 in 7 receive treatment. The opioid epidemic takes around 100,000 lives a year, and fentanyl use, and overdoses/deaths are also on the rise. Sadly, even with all these numbers being so high, access to treatment that is effective, affordable, and happens in a timely manner remains inadequate. This paper will outline the issues that go on with substance abuse and how broken the system is and bring awareness to it. 

Substance abuse can start anywhere, and at any age. The hard truth about substance abuse is that it doesn’t discriminate. Substance use disorder can affect people of all races, ages, and social/economic status. There are certain populations where some people are more impacted than others are. Some of those populations are veterans, low-income people, those whose family are full of addicts (genetics can play a massive role in substance abuse) and those with mental health issues. If substance abuse goes untreated, the effects can be detrimental. Some of the effects for untreated substance abuse are- charges from the justice system, loss of housing or employment, family issues/complications, diseases, health problems, and losing housing. 

The biggest and most significant problem when it comes to substance abuse is the lack of resources and lack of funding. A lot of treatment centers are understaffed, overwhelmed, or not easily accessible (especially if they are in rural areas). People trying to get into treatment centers can be waiting weeks or months even to get into treatment. Weeks and months are something that people that are struggling with their addiction don’t have. Sometimes, it can be a matter of a day that stands between someone getting the help they need and becoming sober, or someone overdosing and/or passing away. 

Another significant issue that people trying to get help with substance abuse face is the cost of the treatment or insurance not wanting to pay, or insurance only wanting to pay for a certain amount of days. The sad and unfortunate truth of the insurance world is that if you have private pay insurance or PPI, you will likely get better care and a longer treatment option. Whereas if you have a state-funded insurance plan or Medicaid, they sometimes only want to pay for a week of treatment or 28 days at max. Getting them to approved treatment for someone is sometimes harder than you can imagine. Another issue that people can run into with insurance is that if you have Medicare as your insurance, a lot of places don’t take that for substance abuse treatment and then you’re stuck with the whole bill. Insurance shouldn’t have as big of a say as it does on things medical and substance abuse wise, but sadly it does. Insurance companies think they know what is best for you and what you need, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Coverage for people with insurance is limited and few and far between, which makes it to be successful in your recovery and sustain it. Substance use also goes hand in hand with mental health. 

Another issue that people face regarding their substance abuse disorder is the stigma and discrimination that comes from it. People think if you ask for help, it makes you weak and you will be looked at as less than you are. Asking for help may be the hardest step in the whole treatment process, but it’s also the most important and takes a lot of strength to surrender and state that you can’t do this alone and that you need help. Society looks at people who have substance abuse issues, present and past as less than them. People who go to a hospital for help and have a history of substance use, they always have a permanent mark on them after. They are often labeled as drug seeking, attention seeking, or just weak and not able to handle pain. Being treated this way also steers people away from getting medical attention when they need it. 

To try to combat and address substance use there are a few things that could be done to help the ever-growing problem of drugs. One of the things to help could be diversion programs, such as drug court where they can plead in and as long as they follow certain rules and stay sober, their charges can get dropped. The only downfall is funding for this isn’t always there in places. Another option to help with substance abuse is that when people come in for substance abuse treatment, to combine it with mental health treatment as a lot of times, those two hold hands with each other and grab at the person. Another way to help is to provide a lot of education about drugs and reducing the stigma of it to schools. I remember when I was in elementary school, there was the program called DARE and Say No to Drugs. I’m not sure how many of those programs still exist today, as I haven’t heard much. Another option, and one of the best ones in my opinion, is to expand people’s access to evidence-based treatment. Evidence based treatment are programs like medication assisted treatment, and counseling. Medication assisted treatment is something that they can get weekly or monthly to help them combat their cravings and reduce their risk for relapse. The final thing that I think can help with substance abuse is harm reduction. Harm reduction consists of needle exchange programs, and naloxone being handed out to help combat an overdose. 

In conclusion, there is a lot that needs to be changed and implemented in the United States to help with substance abuse. Substance abuse does more harm than to the individual that is using. Families get torn apart and broken, lives are lost that don’t need to be lost from an overdose, and people struggle in silence and don’t have the ability to get the care that they need so desperately. Individuals that are struggling with substance abuse, having a lack of support, isn’t just a healthcare system failure, it’s also a moral and society failure. It’s time to quit trying to combat the substance abuse problem halfway, it’s time to take it head on. People’s lives depend on it.

Housing Is a Human Right: Analyzing Springfield’s Housing Crisis – A Call To Action

 Springfield, Illinois — the Land of Lincoln — is supposed to be the heart of America. It’s a city that carries the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and everything he stood for: fairness, equality, and unity.

You’d think a place with that kind of history would lead the way in social justice and strong communities. But there’s something we’re not talking about enough — a housing crisis that’s punishing people for being poor, and a system that isn’t doing nearly enough to fix it.

One only has to walk in downtown Springfield to see all of the history for themselves. The monuments, the old buildings — this is where Lincoln lived, worked, and wrote his First Inaugural Address. A once powerful figure, in a city that he loved and grew up in. If he could see the city today, would he be proud of what it’s become? Honestly, I’m not so sure.

Abraham Lincoln knew what it meant to struggle — born into poverty, raised in hardship, and largely an autodidact who educated himself through sheer will and hard work. If he were alive today, would he accept that thousands of families in Springfield — the city that honors his name — have no stable place to call home?

According to the Springfield Housing Authority (SHA), more than 3,000 families in Sangamon County are currently on the waitlist for affordable housing, with no clear timeline for when their needs will be met. Over the past five years, the average rent in Springfield has surged by nearly 20%. I can personally relate — I pay $1,400 a month for a 3-bedroom, 1,300 sq. ft. apartment. This increase has far outpaced wage growth, which has consistently lagged behind inflation. What this means is simple: people are struggling to make ends meet, and affordable housing remains incredibly scarce.

Residents are often forced into expensive leases because they don’t qualify for mortgages, while the safer neighborhoods (mainly on the West side of Springfield) — those where families might hope to build a better life — are priced out of reach. This forces many into unsafe living environments, where conditions are often subpar and the stress of living paycheck to paycheck takes a toll on both physical and mental health.

Take Sandra, a single mother of two in Springfield. She’s been on the SHA waitlist for over a year while working two jobs. She can’t afford the rent in safer neighborhoods, so she stays in an area where she doesn’t feel safe letting her kids play outside.

So what can we do? First, affordable housing needs to be at the forefront of policy discussion.

Safe, affordable and accessible units in communities that provide access to quality schooling and affordable healthcare. Policy priorities that focus on housing as a fundamental human right—one that everyone, regardless of income, should have access to without fear of homelessness. Housing is a human right.

Expanding housing voucher programs is one critical step. When SHA is overwhelmed and underfunded, it’s up to lawmakers to step up. What this comes down to is public representatives pushing for more funding in the public housing sector to address chronic housing instability that plagues so many Springfield residents. Building a strong and more inclusive community within Springfield would prioritize people over profit—one that Lincoln may actually recognize as just.

If you want a community that thrives and is representative of all, and not just those privileged few, then it starts with us. Write to your local representatives and let them know that you want affordable housing as a top priority. Go to the Capitol building and request an audience with them.

The benefit of living in Springfield is that our representatives are only minutes away at any given time. Be the voice that won’t let this issue get pushed to the back burner.

As the Land of Lincoln, Springfield should be a beacon of justice and equality — just as it was in Lincoln’s time. Let’s make sure that when people think of Springfield, they don’t just think of history, but of a city that stands up for its people. Springfield should be a leader, not a follower — and that starts with you and me.

States Rights are About Power

 Donald Trump has often cited States’ Rights in his policy decisions and general opinions, which is why the hypocrisy of his executive order “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach” is so egregiously obnoxious. State overreach? I thought it was federal overreach that most conservatives find so irksome. How can a state even have overreach. It’s not infringing upon anything outside of itself. 

The tension between states’ rights and federal governance has been part of United States culture since the American Revolution. After the Revolution, each state could have become its own country. Initially, states were operating much on their own without a strong central power, but over time it became clear that more could be accomplished with stronger unity and pooling of resources. 

States rights was the rallying cry of the South leading up to the American Civil War. South Carolina became the first state to secede from the union on December 6^th of 1860. South Carolina had previously threatened to secede in 1832 over tariffs imposed by the federal government on imported goods. In 1850, South Carolina faced another session crisis when California joined the United States as a free state. 

Touting the virtues of States’ Rights has long been a conservative method of infringing on human rights on issues ranging from slavery to restrictions on abortion. It’s never really about states’ rights. It’s about control. In the case of slavery, control over human property. In the case of abortion, control over women’s rights to self-determination, and in the case of this recent attempt to create polices that infringe on states’ rights to protect the environment, control over environmental resources.