Salisbury takes the lead with new social worker program

In another local first, City of Salisbury is piloting a new model for community support – a social worker in the library.

Increasingly, libraries are being called on to support community with a range of complex needs, and with cost-of-living pressures experienced by many, the City of Salisbury has moved to better support the community and staff by partnering with Sonder to engage an on-site social worker.

The concept of the pilot is for the social worker to act as a liaison for patrons who might not engage with, or be aware of, available community support. The pilot will seek to help connect them with services they need through referrals and provide support and training to staff, so they can offer extra assistance to visitors when needed.

The project has been funded by the City of Salisbury, with support from the Libraries Board of South Australia, which is interested in understanding how library services across our state may evolve to meet changing community needs.

Not-for-profit Sonder, a leading provider of integrated health and community services, has been contracted to provide a skilled practitioner to be based at the Hub.

Delivered from a range of centres located across South Australia, Sonder’s services provide support across a wide range of areas, including mental health, homelessness, Aboriginal health, alcohol and/or other drugs, employment, community health, and disability.