MSSP Program: Preparing Students for Social Policy and Advocacy by David Griffith MSSP 2014

I first came to SP2 as an MSW student focused on working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals and communities. I saw Penn’s MSW program as a great opportunity for me to develop the techniques and skills to provide direct services to LGBTQ individuals and to effectively advocate for this population. While I found the MSW curriculum to be very useful in helping me to develop many social work skills, I also experienced a strong pull towards focusing on the larger systems and structures that have historically oppressed LGBTQ communities. While I still saw the potential impact that I could have as a social worker working with LGBTQ individuals, I decided to pursue a dual MSW/MSSP program because of the opportunity to investigate both the direct services that can benefit this community as well as the broader policies that can either marginalize these communities or encourage their progress.

I have been interested not only in how social policy and advocacy can be used to improve outcomes for LGBTQ communities, but also in how members of these communities can organize to push for important policy changes at the federal, state, and local level. While there has been incredible progress for LGBTQ populations in the past decade, there is still a great amount of work to be done, especially for the most marginalized sub-communities within this population. For the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ population, access to LGBTQ-sensitive resources is often scarce and adverse physical, social, emotional, and economic outcomes ensue. I was able to pull these issues into my MSSP coursework to gain a fuller understanding of these factors and outcomes.

After the conclusion of my MSSP coursework, my MSSP internship provided the perfect opportunity to learn more about how these forces interact and affect vulnerable members of LGBTQ communities. As an intern with the Philadelphia-based LGBT Elder Initiative (lgbtei.org), I have gained invaluable experience in both the provision of community-based services as well as in community organizing and political advocacy. The LGBT Elder Initiative formed out of a need to connect LGBTQ older adults with culturally sensitive services in the aging network. The organization seeks to improve the ways that agencies provide direct services to seniors as well as the policies that are enacted that impact LGBTQ older adults.

As the baby boomer generation matures, and as acceptance of LGBTQ identities continues to increase, the number of “out” LGBT older adults in the United States is expected to more than double in the next 15 years. Waiting to meet this rapidly growing population is a system of aging service organizations and policies that have never before given focus to this population of older adults. The Pennsylvania State Plan on Aging, for example, makes no mention of LGBTQ older adults, despite the unique needs of this population. LGBTQ older adults have already lived through decades of often heinous discrimination that has left lasting physical, emotional, social, and economic impacts. Still today, LGBTQ older adults in Pennsylvania are open to legal discrimination in the provision of social services and placement in nursing homes and assisted-care facilities. 

Through my internship with the MSSP program, I have been able to develop hands-on real-world experience that has complemented the skills and patterns of thought that I gained as a social policy student. I have utilized skills gained from my MSSP academic experience such as program evaluation, community organizing, statistical analysis, media outreach, and policy research. Since the conclusion of my internship, I have continued to work with the agency in a volunteer capacity, assisting in the development and implementation of our educational programming and helping to lead our new Policy & Advocacy Committee. I also have two guest lectures scheduled for the fall at Rutgers University focused on the intersections of social work, social policy, and public health as it pertains to LGBT older adults. I am grateful to the MSSP program for having opened up these opportunities and for having prepared me with the background necessary to succeed in this capacity.

(David Griffith completed his MSSP degree in August 2014 and is expected to receive his MSW in May 2015)