The process of creating the advertisements for the National Social Work Public Education Campaign begins many months before the ad is produced, with research and contacts to social work professionals across the country.

To develop an ad focusing on social work service to veterans, we worked with NASW chapters in states with large veteran populations. We looked especially at the
Midwest, because we wanted our stories to span many regions of the country.

Sky Westerlund in the Kansas Chapter put me in contact with Rick Selig, PhD, MSW, a social worker in private practice who works with veterans as they return from the Middle East. Dr. Selig had also recently obtained a grant to reach out to veterans at the local VA hospital.

Dr. Selig was thrilled to be part of the advertisement highlighting what he feels is an important area of practice. One of his clients, Army Reservist Chuck Ross, had recently returned from an 18-month tour in Iraq, and was pleased to tell his story to a larger audience because he felt that his example might encourage other struggling vets to seek help.

In June, I traveled with Crosby, our communications firm, to Topeka, Kansas to take photos of Dr. Selig and Chuck Ross. We spoke with Dr. Selig about his outreach to returning vets. We spoke with Chuck, and his wife Jennifer, about his experience in Iraq and how difficult deployment was. He explained how his work with Dr. Selig had improved his life, and described his hope that other veterans and their families will get the help they need and deserve. This was the most rewarding part of the ad’s creation.

Once the interviews and photography were complete, the Crosby team worked to design several options for the advertisement. The NASW Campaign Team pored over the options until we found the perfect combination of photos and wording that highlighted the importance of social work. Dr. Selig and Chuck Ross had final approval over the advertisement and the accompanying story on the HelpStartsHere.org Web site, and were both thrilled with the final version. The ad ran in the November 2006 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine in honor of Veteran’s Day. You can read about them in Real Life Stories at HelpStartsHere.org.