How Social Work Changed Hawaii

Social work typically is not understood as a profession possessing a history, let alone making history. Yet it has, and it does. How Social Work Changed Hawai‘i presents eight change makers and offers a contemporary framework for social work—and social justice—in the Aloha State

While social work is most often about helping people cope, its underlying drive is to create a better world. At important moments in Hawai‘i’s history, the hard work of helping others has led to new practices, laws, and social programs, including those uniquely suited to Hawai‘i’s diverse people.

In their journeys, the pioneers and visionaries profiled in these pages — Susan Chandler, Andrew Chang, Clorinda Low Lucas, Patti Lyons, Ah Quon McElrath, Masaru Oshiro, Lynette Paglinawan, Myron B. Thompson — became catalysts of social justice. Through their life stories, they challenge us to ask: Where are we today, and by the standards of their values, what does the future hold?

Softcover; 168 pp.
Author: Tom Coffman
Release Date: December 2022