STRONGER SOCIAL FABRIC
Network Leadership
NETWORK CO-LEADS
Suzanne Brown, PhD
Associate Professor
Wayne State University
Robert Cosby, PhD
Assistant Dean
Howard University
Sandra Edmunds Crewe, PhD
Dean
Howard University
Michelle Munson, PhD
Professor
New York University
Erika Sabbath, ScD
Associate Professor
Boston College
LOOKING BACK
During the past five years, members
of the network for Eradicate Social
Isolation and their colleagues have:
• Compiled a special issue of the Clinical Social
Work Journal on eradicating social isolation
in diverse populations and across the lifespan
• Organized a symposium at the Society
for Social Work & Research conference
on "Adversity, Marginalization, and Social
Isolation: Risks and Resilience"
• Participated in the Social Isolation Impact
Summit, hosted by the Motion Picture &
Television Fund and the Milken Institute's
Center for the Future of Aging
• Delivered the keynote address at the
University of the Western Cape in Cape Town,
South Africa on the importance of human
relationships
• Served on the ad hoc committee and
contributed to the Consensus Study Report
of the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine on "Social Isolation
and Loneliness in Older Adults"
• Advocated for policy, practice, and
educational changes to ensure that social
isolation, particularly among older adults,
receives adequate attention
• Presented a CSWE Teaching Institute:
"Eradicate Social Isolation: Teaching and
learning strategies for generalist and
advanced curriculum"
In 2020 alone, responding to the COVID -19
pandemic, members of the network to
Eradicate Social Isolation have:
• Established a helpline at Wayne State
University to train volunteers to help
reduce stress and social isolation among
healthcare workers
• Launched a Virtual Health Ministry program
in Washington, DC, in which social work
student navigators link congregants at
area churches with services as well as a
Grandparent Reassurance Program
• Delivered webinars on "Isolation & Creativity
in the Time of COVID -19" and "Social Work:
A Relational Profession in a Time of Social
Distancing"
• Published articles on the implications of
COVID -19 for older adults, African Americans,
and the brain itself
• Conducted a survey to understand the
impact of COVID -19 related social distancing
on mental health and well-being
LOOKING AHEAD
Network members have articulated the following objectives for this Grand Challenge
over the next five years:
• Continue to advocate for their policy recommendations, using best practices gleaned from
innovative approaches in the UK and other countries around the world:
1. Increase access to social supports that strengthens social connections for children,
families, older adults and people with disabilities
2. Build more age-friendly communities that strengthen social connections
3. Reduce barriers to social inclusion for those marginalized by racism and other
forms of oppression
• Organize their research activities around a set of research questions focused on social support,
social integration, and social exclusion
• Engage network leads and national colleagues on strategies to embed strategic teaching tools
into the curriculum at the BSW, MSW, and PhD levels
• Increase the scope and cohesiveness of their network to better expand and coordinate their efforts
• Include community leaders from across the country in generating strategies to eradicate social
isolation and build social connection
An Impact Report at Year 5 of the 10-Year Initiative | 19