STRONGER SOCIAL FABRIC
Network Leadership
NETWORK CO-LEADS
Suzanne Brown, PhD
Associate Professor
Wayne State University
fb7139@wayne.edu
Robert Cosby, PhD
Assistant Dean
Howard University
robert.cosby@howard.edu
Sandra Edmunds Crewe, PhD
Dean
Howard University
secrewe@howard.edu
Michelle Munson, PhD
Professor
New York University
michelle.munson@nyu.edu
Erika Sabbath, ScD
Associate Professor
Boston College
erika.sabbath@bc.edu
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