March is Social Work Awareness Month!
March is Social Work Awareness Month—and we are excited to celebrate here at Hanover Safe Place! Social work is defined by the National Association of Social Workers as a profession which seeks to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities. In other words, social workers help clients build their toolboxes in order to thrive! The profession is guided by six core values, including service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Our team currently has two social workers on staff who have different roles and perspectives to share. This month, we are acknowledging their work by hearing directly from Grace and Cassie about their experiences in the domestic and sexual violence field.
Grace Dillon, MSW: Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselor
Happy social work awareness month! My name is Grace, and I am one of the counselors at Hanover Safe Place. I have been working in this position for the past two years, but discovered my passion for working with domestic and sexual violence survivors during my graduate school internship. During this time, I was placed in the HARP Program in Chesterfield County Jail. HARP stands for helping addicts recover progressively, and the program builds a supportive, healing community for those who are incarcerated and live with addiction. Being an intern with the HARP program, I had the opportunity to hear the stories of countless people who had experienced trauma and now use their journeys to inspire others. I learned how often substance use and domestic violence intersect. Many of the women I encountered bravely shared their experiences with domestic and sexual violence, and opened up about how it impacted them. Their powerful stories led me to this field and I knew that it was something I wanted to continue post-graduation.
Stepping into my role at Hanover Safe Place has been an incredible experience. What I love most about my job is being able to walk alongside survivors on their healing journeys. Pulling from my social work background, my counseling style is strengths-based and client-centered. My primary goal is to support clients as they process trauma, recognize their strengths, and gain a sense of empowerment. I believe that my client’s are the experts in their own lives, and are capable of making decisions that will lead them towards their goals and healing. This month especially, I am grateful for social work because it led me to this position where I continue to be inspired by my clients every day!
Cassie LaVoun, MSW: Prevention Specialist
Hello and happy social work awareness month! My name is Cassie LaVoun, and I am the Prevention Specialist here at Hanover Safe Place. I have worked in various positions here at HSP, I started as a shelter case manager, then moved to the court advocacy program, and am now in the prevention program. My undergraduate degree is in Psychology and Criminal Justice, and I received my Master of Social Work degree from Norfolk State University in 2015. After graduating, and before coming to HSP, I worked different positions including first working at a therapeutic residential facility for youth, then for an agency that monitors court ordered house arrest for juveniles, and then worked as a victim witness caseworker for the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office in Virginia Beach. My passion, however, has always been to work with domestic violence survivors.
My passion started during my undergraduate program when I took a family violence course. During the course, we had to complete a community service project that benefited a local domestic violence agency. Our group chose Samaritan House, an agency that serves Virginia Beach. Our group decided to have a table display at a local grocery store where we took money donations, provided information on the agency, and provided general information on domestic violence. I will always remember this project because not only did we provide great information to the community, but we also got to hear so many stories from individuals who came up to our table to talk with us. We heard from survivors, family/friends of survivors, and even an officer who shared their experience of responding to domestic situations. It really showed me how much domestic violence impacts our community, and I just knew that was the population I wanted to work with.
When researching what graduate program I wanted to complete, the social work program really spoke to me. I liked the idea of being able to use my degree to start working immediately, and I liked that I would be able to use my degree to work in a variety of settings. Social workers can work in government, hospitals, schools, the non-profit world, and more- social workers are needed everywhere there are people! I also love my social work background when working with domestic violence survivors. As mentioned before, the social work field believes in empowering clients to build their own toolboxes in order to thrive, which is so important for survivors who have had their choices and power taken away. The core of the social work field truly matches the type of advocate I wanted to become, and I have enjoyed using those skills to help the clients at our agency.
Hanover Safe Place 