Read the NASW Code of Ethics Ethical Standard #6 (scroll to bottom once you expand the Ethical Standards section) https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Read Ezell, M. (2001) “The Ethics of Advocacy” In: Advocacy in the Human Services. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning. Ezell Ethics of Advocacy.pdf
A major issue that was in the news was the concern about a sudden rise in evictions once the Federal moratorium on evictions was lifted. CT also had a moratorium, which has been lifted.
Watch this video (almost 10 minutes)
Then:
FIRST- TELL ME IF YOU WATCHED THE VIDEO
A – Briefly discuss why it would be important for you to advocate for assistance to prevent homelessness among the folks who cannot pay their rent due to the impact of COVID. What are the emotional and physical health implications of the risk of losing housing during a pandemic? Why is it ethically important for you to advocate for some kind of assistance to prevent the loss of housing for these folk?
B – What position do you take regarding the concerns of landlords who cannot pay their taxes or mortgages due to the lack of rental income, but who also cannot evict their tenants for non-payment of rent?
C- What policy recommendation might you make other than / or in addition to an eviction moratorium? What is the problem with the current policy in effect? Can you tie that problem you identified with a concept from Policy 1?
D – Conservative politicians such as Mitch McConnell have argued that funds to bail out on the State or local levels are too expensive (see for example https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/20/covid-19-stimulus-senate-vote-ppp-loans-deadline-nears/3664901001/). In a few sentences, what would you say to convince an elected official that lifting the eviction moratorium without any other kind of monetary relief for tenants or landlords is problematic? Base your argument either on social work ethics or by using a human rights based approach.
E- Imagine you have a work colleague who is picking and choosing who to tell about the funds available through the CARES Act for eviction prevention. This colleague believes not everyone is deserving of these funds because “some of those folks are scamming the system and weren’t paying their rent anyway” and “some landlords are scum and should be put out of business!” Consider the NASW Code of Ethics Responsibilities to Colleagues (#2), as Professionals (#4) and to Broader Society (#6). How do you address this situation? What are the ethical issues involved?
