Councillor Linda Leach spent time observing frontline social work practice to give her an even greater understanding of the work of the city's dedicated social workers.
She visited Whitmore Reans Strengthening Families Hub where she spent time with Social Work Unit Manager Yeukai Chingwena and her West Locality team and Head of Service Paula Morris, before visiting the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) based at Priory Green, Pendeford, where she spoke with Social Work Unit Manager Kerry Sneyd and her team and Head of Service Sandra Ashton-Jones.
Councillor Leach said: "It was a privilege to have the opportunity to spend time with our social workers, who take strong actions and make potentially life changing decisions on a daily basis with so much commitment and care. I am so proud to be part of this fantastic team who are so valuable to us.
“I also spent time with the MASH team who respond to adults and children who need help, many times urgently. Unfortunately, this can be quite emotional as they do their best to make people in our city safe from abuse and neglect. They handle all people individually with so much care and professionalism.
“I have never been prouder of the way our teams respond to the public. I feel so honoured and proud to have such a fantastic role working with so many incredible people, who at times are perhaps taken for granted. It was heart warming to see what goes on behind closed doors and how our staff go above and beyond, wanting only the best for people, especially in these very challenging times that we are in.”
Yeukai said: "Councillor Leach had the opportunity to get a feel for the day to day life of social workers and to see their determination to ensure those with care and support needs are responded to appropriately with dignity and respect.
"It was an honour and wonderful experience for all social workers to interact with Councillor Leach and share our work, and we hope it was also an eye opener for her on some of the practice dilemmas that social workers constantly face."
Kerry added: "Councillor Leach joined our multi agency team to find out more about how we respond to referrals of adults with care and support needs who are experiencing abuse. She was able to speak to staff about their various roles in supporting people to keep themselves safe from further abuse, and she was able to see for herself some of the many positive outcomes the team achieve.
"She also gained an understanding of some of the challenges faced and is keen to help find ways to overcome them. We think it was a good experience, both for Councillor Leach and for the members of the team that she met."
For more information about social work jobs available with the City of Wolverhampton Council, please visit A Career in Social Work.
