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This we had on Taylor Easley for Social Work Month. Taylor talks about her experiences earning a social work degree and how social work overlaps with the disability rights movement.
Link to full transcript: https://www.ndrn.org/resource/ndr-mar25
Michelle Bishop:
I’m not usually the recorder, so God knows. We’ll just start having a conversation and nothing will be recording. Jack, do not put this in the episode. That’s going to be in the episode. All right. Stephanie, do you want to get us started?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Sorry. Apparently Quinn found a cat on the side of the road that looks lonely and now they want to bring it home. Pray for me.
Michelle Bishop:
That’s your cat now, just so you know.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
No.
Michelle Bishop:
This is how you get a cat. Nobody goes and buys a cat. A cat finds you. That’s how it works.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I know, and Quinn called me and is like, “I need to get it.” My wife, by the way, just for some context, Taylor. I’m like, “No, no, no. I mean, I guess if the cat looks lonely, you can bring the cat, but I don’t know.” I’m like, “Okay.”
Michelle Bishop:
Oh my gosh. Congratulations on your new cat, Stephanie.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I’m not ready for this.
Michelle Bishop:
So excited for your growing family.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Nope, nope, nope. Okay, perfect, perfect. Catastrophic.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Oh yeah, Stephanie likes puns.
Michelle Bishop:
Taylor, if you’re not ready for the bad puns, Stephanie is the queen of bad puns. That’s the other thing you have to know.
Taylor Easley:
I’m ready for them.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
They are puntastic. Wait, are we recording or no?
Michelle Bishop:
Oh, we’re totally recording.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Oh, schnitzel face. Well, Jack, you’ve got your cold open, don’t you?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Alrighty. Well, Taylor, thank you so, so, so much for being on today’s podcast. Before we get into your experience at the P&A, would love to just hear a little bit more about your background and how you got into this work and what brought forth your passion to this work.
Taylor Easley:
Yes. First, thank you so much for this opportunity for me to be on the podcast and hear my story. I’m very grateful and humbled.
Taylor Easley:
My name is Taylor Easley. I have a masters in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University. How I got into this work is that, well, one, I always loved helping people. I used to volunteer at a nursing home when I was in high school, so me helping people isn’t new to me, and when I got into school, I fell in love with social work and I ended up doing multiple internships between undergrad and grad school before working at the P&A of working in the disability community. Some were working in the group home, some were working in a group setting and some have even have been working in policy.
Taylor Easley:
In my senior year of MSW program, I ended up working at the P&A system and working at Disability Law Center of Virginia and that’s where I really fell in love with disability and disability rights and that’s one of the biggest steps of why I am here today.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
That’s amazing. Thank you so, so much for sharing that. And it’s so interesting how so many of us, it’s been a very common theme from this podcast in terms of talking about how individuals with disabilities and without disabilities have just stumbled into this field in a lot of ways by happenstance. So no, thank you so much for sharing.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I know you pointed out your experience at the P&A as an intern. Would love to hear a little bit more experience about that and how that’s propelled you forward in your current career aspirations.
Taylor Easley:
I started as an MSW intern there at the P&A system, Disability Law Center of Virginia. It was a great experience. I learned a lot. I actually improved in my writing there. I learned what it really meant to really advocate for people with disabilities on a macro level. In social work we have the macro, mezzo, micro, well, I’m saying it wrong. We have three different levels in social work. One is working with clients one-on-one, the other one is working in groups in the community, and the last one, the biggest level, macro, is working in the community at large, but systemic policy level. And that’s what I got to do a lot at the Disability Law Center of Virginia.
Taylor Easley:
I would write articles. Actually, one of my first articles I wrote was about cerebral palsy. I have cerebral palsy myself, so that was definitely a way to honor people with cerebral palsy, but let them also know about the P&A system in a way.
Taylor Easley:
I was able to go on monitoring visits and actually be in the community and see how people with disabilities need help. I was on phone calls, I was in different types of meetings that they had and that was all as an intern. I later applied for the public health fellowship at the Disability Law Center and working there. And there I worked there for two years. There is where I really, really grew in working in the field, doing more work, taking more on tasks, reviewing report, leading meeting, and really understand what the disability community needs and understanding that it’s not just about getting the information to the P&A, but how do we get it out to the disability community. That’s one of the things that I did there at the Disability Law Center of Virginia, is that I found a way to take the information that was coming into the dLCV and make sure that the disability community and staff, that they had it.
Michelle Bishop:
Taylor, I’m vibing on all of this because, I don’t know if you realize this, you know we’re both social workers, but we’re also both Virginians. So I’m very excited about all of this. Thank you for representing for our people.
Michelle Bishop:
I wanted to ask you, I always wanted know, I always wanted to do the work that I’m doing now. I knew that from a young age, but when I thought about where that would take me, does that mean being a political science major? Where does this go? I chose social work because I really liked that social work as a profession is very centered on the person and how programs and structures are going to impact the person, and that to me was really meaningful. I’m wondering from you as a social worker and a person with experience with the P&As and the disability rights movement and as a person with lived experience of disability, do you see overlap between those ethics and values that are adopted by social workers and some of the tenants of the disability right movement?
Taylor Easley:
Definitely yes. I do see a overlap between the ethics and values between social work and the disability rights movement. And I also see it not just in social work as a whole, however, I’m also part of the National Association of Black Social Workers, so I do see the overlap there.
Taylor Easley:
Let’s start with social work. A lot of what social work is, person centered, they want to make sure that the client is getting what they need. We want to make sure that clients understand their rights, that they are not abused. That definitely go along with the disability rights movement. And that’s why I am not really surprised that there are a lot of social workers who work at the P&A system, at least at the Disability Law Center of Virginia. I am not very surprised because there is a lot of overlap except the biggest thing in the disability rights movement is that the client is a person with a disability, and that’s where we lean onto a lot wholly.
Taylor Easley:
For the Association of Black Social Workers, our values and ethics, they overlap a lot too, however, the focus is about people who are black. For me, I just don’t fit in with the disability rights movement, I also fit in with the Association of Black Social Workers because I am disabled and because I’m black. The only difference between the biggest two is that it’s the focus of the group. But with the National Association of Black Social Workers, we do want to hear the whisperings. We do want to know how do we help people. So we need disabilities, people with disabilities, excuse me. Sorry starting over.
Taylor Easley:
We need people with disabilities, lived experience, who are black in the Association of Black Social Workers. That organization is very Afrocentric, so the focus is around black people, but again, we are about community. We are about togetherness. We are about uplifting people. We are about social justice, social action, everything that the disability rights movement is. And I’m pretty sure there is a lot more. But those are just some of the big key things that I see between social workers, the National Association of Black Social Workers and the disability rights movement have in common. And the biggest thing is that are for the people, we are for the community and we want to help better serve the community that we are a part of.
Michelle Bishop:
I think we have to acknowledge too if we’re going to talk about social work and disability, that there is some prejudice out there about social workers, who we are and what it is that we do. Even if you don’t have any experience with a social worker, I think a lot of folks concept of what that means comes from primetime television. Every hospital drama, every police drama has a social worker who shows up and they’re going to do something drastic like take your children away, but they’re wrong about what’s going on and the doctor or the police officer has to stop them. These incompetent social workers. And that’s a lot of the images of us that are out there. But also, having been in the disability rights movement for so long, I also know some incredible disabled advocates who’ve also realistically had some bad experiences in the past with social workers that maybe weren’t doing the work from a more holistic, disability forward perspective. So I respect that as well.
Michelle Bishop:
I do think that today’s social workers are really focused on doing person centered work and they’re about social justice and civil rights and engagement, and I think they’re changing the game. Have you experienced any of that in your interactions with the disability rights movement and your work with the P&A? What was that like? How did you handle some of that?
Taylor Easley:
Unfortunately, I don’t think I actually experienced that a lot, especially because the one thing that a lot of people who are in the social work field who don’t really understand if you’re not in the field is that just because you have a degree in social work doesn’t mean that you are actually a social worker. So a lot of times when I am in meetings with other people in the disability rights movement, whether it be agencies or people with disabilities, they may know I have a degree in social work, but I’m not a social worker in that capacity. So for me, because I’m not seen that way, I don’t think I have experienced that, but I definitely have gotten, before I wanted to be a social worker, oh, you want to take kids away or you want to do this or you want to do that? And it’s like, no, there’s so many realms of social work and social workers are everywhere.
Taylor Easley:
This is what I like to say about social work. I know this isn’t part of the question, so you can edit it if you need to, but one of the biggest things that I like to encourage people about social work is that social work is really, how can I put it? It sometimes it’s your education, not always the [inaudible 00:13:27] title. There are many people who have their degree in social work, but they are advocates, they are counselors, they work in the jail, they work with the police officer. So we’re not just in the hospital, at police, we’re anywhere and everywhere. And that’s why I just see me as a social worker where I use my social work education to help whatever job that I am in.
Taylor Easley:
For the past couple years I worked in the disability community, at group homes, small groups and then at the P&A system. And so I use my social work education for that. I do not know where I’m going next, but even if it’s not the disability rights movement or working in disability or working with the Association of Black Social Workers or anywhere I work, I see myself as using my education to help me to do the job. I’m not sure if I really answered that question, but I hope I did?
Michelle Bishop:
Actually, you got me thinking, and I’m so sorry Stephanie, I know you were about to ask a question, but you really got my gears turning and I can’t resist throwing that in there that, I actually think some of what we do in social work actually is really beneficial. You mentioned earlier that there’s not necessarily a ton of social workers in the P&A network, and that’s true from my experience as well. It’s really interesting to me because some of the things that we’re taught in social work school I think would actually really benefit a lot of attorneys and other folks that work in the P&A network. Things like self-care and avoiding burnout, vicarious trauma, when you’re working with people who are experiencing things that we work in like abuse and neglect, going into institutional settings and things like that. Recognizing and acknowledging yourself and your identity and what kind of meaning that has when you go into someone else’s community as a professional and showing up appropriately in different places where people with disabilities live.
Michelle Bishop:
I don’t know of any other profession that includes that in the professional training that you get before you go out into the world that I think is actually really important and could benefit a lot of folks in the P&A network. We might have to pick that up. That sounds like some future podcast episodes and trainings. I’m so sorry, Stephanie, take it away.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
No, I think that that’s a perfect segue into the next question that I had, so thank you so much for bringing that into the conversation, Michelle. And I think that that’s one thing that people forget or maybe don’t always think about, is the fact that there are so many transferable skills when it comes to the work that we do. Based on what I know about social work, I’m not speaking for the social worker community, but based on what I know and based on our conversation today, there are so many beneficial skills.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
To that end, I would love to know, Taylor, what advice you have for individuals who are actively pursuing social work degrees or even individuals just starting out after getting their degrees in social work. What are some ways for them to get involved in advocacy within the P&A network or even just disability rights advocacy? I know that we touched on this a little bit, but would love to dig a little bit more into that if you could share.
Taylor Easley:
I will be honest, the way I got into it was by accident. I just filled out… I got picked at a disability agency to do one of my internships, so that’s how I got into it. But I would say if you know, then one of the things that I would definitely do is definitely, if you are in school, definitely try and take electives around disability, because that may also help you to really get an understanding of what it is. Because a lot of people don’t realize, it’s so much.
Taylor Easley:
Even when I got to the P&A and they was like, it’s a lot of stuff. And I’m like, wait a minute, I can’t do everything in the disability rights movement. I was like, oh, snap. I didn’t realize it was so much. So I would just say, learn what you can. Also volunteering with the P&A network, if you cannot get an internship, if the P&A system is in your state, that is close to your school of social work, see if you can get an internship there because that is definitely one way. But I definitely know, at least in Virginia, they need volunteers, so one thing is also volunteering, but also learning. Also calling the P&A system and maybe seeing, I don’t know if they can do this, but maybe even seeing if they can do an informational interview or just finding different disability rights movement things to do, or even agencies where you can help, you can volunteer, you can work.
Taylor Easley:
Because the one thing about social work is that yes, you can have the education, but when you are after you graduate, a lot of it is about experience. And I think that if you can get the experience while you are in school, that would be great because it’s going to be easier if you want to move and see if that’s definitely the field that you want to do, it’s going to be easier to probably move along. Because you know the language, you know the terms, you know what words to use and not use. You know different things that people in the disability community are looking for. You have that professional work experience behind you to back it up.
Taylor Easley:
The other thing for social workers coming out of school, I would definitely say volunteering, networking. Because the thing about it is that nine times out of 10 as a social worker or if you work in the social work field, you’re going to come across a person with a disability. People may not think it, but you don’t really have to work as a disability agency or work with P&As to actually work with people with disabilities. We get around, we go to different agencies to seek help, whatever it may be. But just getting in that field is a great way. Getting connected with the P&A, getting connected with any agency that does a lot of work around disability in your agency. And I mean, sorry, starting over.
Taylor Easley:
Getting connected with disability agencies in your state or even just learning about the topic. Sometimes watching movies like Crip Camp, that could give you a lot of history about the disability rights movement and where it came from. There is so much rich history about the disability rights movement that even as I was working as a P&A that I had to learn. And I have been in the field of working with people with disabilities since 2018 and I were born with CP and there’s so much stuff that I don’t want to learn that I have to learn that I’m still learning.
Taylor Easley:
So definitely learning and open to learning, open to growing and just open to wherever the path may take you. Because you may be working or volunteering at the P&A system, but realizing working there may not be the best thing, but you may be like, you know what? I have the knowledge of the P&A system. Let me go over here and be a light to an agency that works with people with disabilities that need it the most.
Michelle Bishop:
Well, everybody should watch Crip Camp, actually. It Was fantastic. Everyone who hasn’t seen it should go and watch Crip Camp right now. And I was also, as I was listening, thinking for P&As that listen to this podcast, first, thanks y’all for being our loyal followers. But for P&As that listen to this podcast, reach out to the social work schools in your state. If you are one of those P&As that is looking to hire new young professionals at your P&As, if you are saying to us all the time, “We need interns. We need volunteers.” There are students who I’m sure would love to get involved with your organizations. This is a bit of an untapped resource, I think, for our network. So get out there and make friends with a social worker this month for social work month.
Taylor Easley:
Yes, please. I would definitely say me working at the P&A system as an intern really helped me in what I wanted to do with my career and it really showed me what I would like to do. Yes, P&As, if you can reach out to the social work schools in your state and let them know like, Hey, we wouldn’t mind taking on a social work intern, that would definitely be great. Or even if you can’t, be like, hey, do you have any students in the social work field who wouldn’t mind volunteering? Because that’s another way. It doesn’t always have to be internship experience if you can’t get it. It could be something like, hey, we are looking for volunteers. We need this, we need that.
Taylor Easley:
So yes, reaching out to the social work schools and not just the social work schools, but other agencies that you think that could have social work and just getting that intel or networking. Because we’re all in this together with the disability rights movement, but we can’t be separate, we have to be together, and we need more social workers with that background of social work in the movement too, to help.
Michelle Bishop:
Taylor, thank you so much for joining us for this episode for Social Work Month to talk about disability rights and the P&A network and the amazing things that social workers do. Somehow against all odds, Jack is producing this episode from a moving vehicle. Stephanie’s wife is adopting a cat as we speak, so we appreciate you making the time.
Taylor Easley:
Yes, thank you so much for letting me come and just talk about my experience. I’m so grateful. It was fun, and I hope to be back one day.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Absolutely. Thank you so, so, so much. And for our listeners, please pray for me. I’m not ready for this cat thing. I’ll take any advice you have at [email protected].
Michelle Bishop:
Specifically, she’s looking for brands of kitty litter that you’d recommend, cat foods, toys, maybe laser pointers. Go Cat Mama.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I know nothing about this. The last time I lived with a cat, I was terrified because the poor cat kept getting in my meal prep space and I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m scared. I don’t want to hurt you kitty cat. I genuinely don’t want to hurt you. Stop walking on our stove. So anyway, pray for me. Thank you.
Michelle Bishop:
Taylor, thank you. And we’ll send you pics of Stephanie’s new cat.
Jack Rosen:
Wow, that was a great interview with Taylor. I really enjoyed that.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Yeah, no, I think that there was a lot of really good insight there and I’m really, really glad that she was able to share that with our community, about her experiences, her lived experiences as a disabled social worker. That was super cool.
Jack Rosen:
Well, our other favorite social worker, Michelle Bishop, had to head out, but I know if she was here, she’d want to hear this. Stephanie, do you have a joke for us this month?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
Oh, of course. And you know Michelle always wants to hear my jokes. You heard it here first, y’all. Anyway. This is more of a story. Again, I know Michelle’s favorite and I just want to give a shout out to Susan from Facebook Marketplace. Susan, you are the real MVP, so thank you for this.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
So anyway, I was looking at Facebook marketplace, as one does, and just randomly I came across a piano that was for sale and then marked down for free. I clicked on it because I’m a piano enthusiast. I started playing piano when I was four and I thought I was a cool cat and no, I wasn’t going to get the piano, but I couldn’t help but click on the ad. And so I did. She was talking about all of the features and how nice it was, and then she said something along the lines of, which we hear this a lot on Marketplace, only seriously inquiries, no players. Why would she say no players is what I want to know? Because isn’t the whole point to play the piano. I guess she needs to learn the necessary keys for Marketplace advertising. Thank you, Susan. Appreciate you. Did I make sense?
Jack Rosen:
Such a long walk to get to that punch line?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I know, but it was so perfect. Come on, that wasn’t the worst I’ve ever done.
Jack Rosen:
It’s not the worst.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I thought it was funny. When I saw it, I laughed at it for 20 minutes.
Jack Rosen:
So did you get the keyboard?
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
No, I did not. I didn’t. But no players just kills me.
Jack Rosen:
You were going to be able to make a jingle.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I know, I know. I’ll work on it. Maybe Susan will still have that piano up and I can say, “I am a player, but I’m still interested in keyboard.” Anyway Jack, do you want to tell the people where they can follow us on social before they decide to tune out because of my bad jokes?
Jack Rosen:
Yes. You can follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube, probably somewhere else. Did I say Twitter? You can follow us on Twitter.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
You should say TikTok, the account we never use.
Jack Rosen:
I do not remember what our TikTok is.
Stephanie Flynt McEben:
I’m going to do some investigative research and look up our TikTok account. Thank y’all. Bye.
