Copyright Santa Clarita Valley Signal
The National Association of Social Workers recognized several local residents for their work in promoting mental health programs and resources in the community at its annual awards ceremony. The organization annually recognizes individuals who consistently demonstrate the six core values of the NASW Code of Ethics: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence, according to a previous NASW statement. In Santa Clarita last month, the organization recognized two longtime residents who’ve supported its interests: Diane Trautman as its Volunteer of the Year; and Barbara Wilson as Social Worker of the Year. Wilson was recognized for her work with the Mental Health Hookup, a nonprofit she started with her daughter’s encouragement, after she began to see a real need about 17 years ago. Wilson was a retired licensed clinical social worker who saw the challenges that many adults faced in finding support for their adult-aged loved ones in need of a spectrum of care for mild to severe issues. She said another major problem she began to see was that many of the services required professional help to make sure appointments were made and completed and follow-up care was delivered, but this was not covered by insurance carriers, which was what inspired her to create Mental Health Hookup. She raises money and volunteers time for her mission, which is “to assist families in finding appropriate resources and to develop tailored programs for loved ones living with mental illness,” according to its website, MHHU.org. Trautman was named the organization’s Volunteer of the Year at an annual ceremony due to her commitment to helping an online resource for the local mental health community, BeTheDifferenceSCV.org. The website was the result of “a comprehensive public campaign to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness, to support mental wellness and to prevent suicides,” according to its website. As part of her work on the SCV community’s Suicide Prevention, Postvention and Wellness Committee, Trautman spends hours updating the website and making sure its resources are up to date. Trautman said she appreciates the opportunity to spread awareness about the resources that are out here. “And sometimes people will approach me and having been part of this committee and knowing some of the people … involved in the committee and their various skillsets and so on, I can try to help people navigate when they need assistance,” she said. “So it’s something that I can do personally, but then also as a service to all of these wonderful social workers and managers of these organizations that are trying to do their best to help people who are in crisis.”
