Out of the Shadows: The Role of Social Workers in Disasters

Social work has often been described as the fifth emergency service. When disaster strikes, long after our colleagues from health, fire and police services have been and gone, social workers stick around to pick up the pieces.

Out of the Shadows is the first book to be published focusing on the role of UK social workers in disasters. Their involvement goes beyond the initial crisis as the impact of disasters have long term consequences such as displacement, loss, psychological issues and survivor guilt. This book focuses on the poignant and important personal stories of people with lived experiences of disaster. It also include voices of social workers and their organisational leaders who have been directly involved in providing support in disasters, their reflections and sharing learning for the future.

The impact of disasters not only affect those directly affected but also individuals, families, groups and local communities locally, nationally and internationally. This book provides an important opportunity to share and develop knowledge, skills, best practice and learning from disasters nationally and internationally and from social workers who have been directly involved in emergency responses as well as from the communities they have served.

Angie Bartoli

My interest in disaster work stems from my volunteer work in Romania in the early 1990s, after the fall of Ceausescu, which exposed the overcrowded and inhumane conditions in the orphanages. I was hugely impacted by the experience – the sights, sounds, smells and resilience of a generation robbed of a childhood and hidden away in the most appalling conditions. Not long after this, in 1994 I qualified as a social worker and have worked with children and families within the statutory and voluntary sectors as a practitioner and manager. I worked for a period of time with the Department of Education and was a Training Manager for a Local Safeguarding Children Board. I am now a social work educator working at Nottingham Trent University and gained my Professional Doctorate in 2016. Since becoming the Vice Chair for BASW (England), I have been involved in the BASW England campaign to raise awareness and formalise the important role social workers play in disaster recovery and I have had the privilege of meeting a number of colleagues involved in social work in disasters and those with lived experience.

Maris Stratulis

I am a registered Social Worker and have a Master of Laws in Human Rights from The University of Nottingham. I have worked in a variety of strategic social work leadership roles, both in the UK and overseas, including working for Save the Children in Bosnia Herzegovina as a Child Protection Adviser and in other roles in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. I have worked for The Refugee Council as the Manager for the Panel of Unaccompanied Refugee Children, Director for The British Red Cross Nottinghamshire and managed children in need, safeguarding and children in care services. As such, I have been instrumental in the development of strategic partnerships, integrated leadership, service planning, policy development and commissioning with a strong focus on co-production. I have also held a variety of children and adult services roles in Local Authorities in London and the East Midlands. My passion and interest in disaster work is based on personal experiences of the impact of such events, including the Hillsborough disaster, Kosovo refugee programme, co-ordination of emergency responses and working within the context of a post-war environment. As the National Director (England) for BASW, I am committed to working ‘with’ people with lived experiences and ensuring the legacy of those who have died and been directly affected by disaster are heard.

Rebekah Pierre

I have worked extensively with children and families in settings where disasters are common, including overseas in Uganda, India, and Chile; the latter included working with the UN ministry of education in rural Tarapaca, where earthquakes were frequent, and the land heavily impacted by climate change. My most recent experience of disaster settings was during the COVID-19 pandemic, where I worked as a frontline social worker in an inner-London child protection team. As an editor of this work, I bring the dual perspective of being both a social work practitioner, as well as somebody with lived experience of the care system. I have written extensively around the manifestation of trauma within the body, and ways in which practitioners can help children to reconnect with their embodied selves – which may have been home to abuse or suffering – through creative methods. Having been through the process of sharing my lived experience through autoethnographic works, I am passionate about encouraging others to share their story in a way in which they have complete ownership – something I drew upon throughout this book. I am currently a Professional Officer at BASW England.