By Emma Henzes ’20
In commemoration of National Professional Social Work Month during March, the School of Social Work in Falk College awarded its annual Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Awards to Darlene Medley from Families for Lead Freedom Now and Maarten Jacobs, MSW from the Allyn Family Foundation.
Darlene Medley, Families for Lead Freedom Now
Following the devastating news that two of her children had been permanently impacted by deadly lead paint, which is present in numerous low-income Southside of Syracuse communities, Darlene Medley became one of the organizing members of Families for Lead Freedom Now. The organization aims to increase awareness about the persistence of lead poisoning in poor communities, to respond to the needs of families impacted and to eradicate the problem for future generations.
Darlene’s actions to fight for her children and her neighbor’s children to bring about a more socially just response to this issue reflect the spirit of the Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award and are deserving of recognition.
Maarten Jacobs, MSW, Allyn Family Foundation
At the Allyn Family Foundation, Maarten Jacobs is co-developing a Community Prosperity Initiative, which focuses on disrupting concentrated poverty in targeted Syracuse neighborhoods by empowering residents to fulfill their full potential and contributing to the wellbeing of their families and the revitalization of their neighborhoods.
Before working for the Allyn Family Foundation, Maarten was the executive director of the Near Westside Initiative (NWSI). In that position, Maarten worked to ensure that the community’s best interests were represented and that the neighborhood residents of the Westside were actively engaged in the revitalization taking place in their neighborhood.
Maarten’s efforts in community empowerment and fostering community members to live their best potential by disrupting the fetters of concentrated poverty reflect the spirit of the Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award and are deserving of recognition.
Presented for more than 30 years, the Rubenstein Social Justice Award is given in honor of the late professor Dan Rubenstein, a former faculty member in the School of Social Work and his late wife, Mary Lou, a former school social worker. Recipients of this award are role models whose courage and strength inspire others to stand up—and step up—to advocate and be a voice in the Syracuse community. The values of social justice are integral to their daily lives. The work of honorees each year, by their individual and collective examples, exemplify the true spirit of the Rubenstein Social Justice Award.