As director of The Camden Life Center in Camden, New York, Jessica Perusse, LCSW-R, CSSW, has several ties to the students and faculty in the School of Social Work in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
That connection grew even stronger on March 27, when Perusse received the School of Social Work’s prestigious Social Justice Award. Perusse also served as the keynote speaker of the annual Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award program that was held before a standing-room-only audience in Room 200 White Hall in Falk College.
Presented for more than 30 years during National Social Work Month in March, 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 their local community. The values of social justice are integral to honorees’ daily lives, and their work represents the true spirit of the Rubenstein Social Justice Award.
The theme of this year’s program was “United for Change: Honoring Collective Impact and Collaboration in Rural Communities,” and Perusse’s impact in Camden and collaboration with Syracuse University is second-to-none in Central New York.
“This year’s theme invites us to think deeply about what it means to stand together in solidarity, especially with communities that have too often been overlooked or underserved,” said School of Social Work Chair and Professor Carrie Jefferson Smith.
“Jessica reminds us that collective impact begins with one person saying, ‘Yes, this matters.’ With one person having the courage to care,” Smith added. “She reminds us that justice is not a destination, it is a daily practice.”
The Camden Life Center, a partnership between the Come to the Table Counseling and Center for Family Life and Recovery (CFLR), is a center for multiple agencies to come together and act in their areas of strength for the maximum impact and overall benefit of their community. The primary goal is to inspire hope, provide help, promote wellness, and transform lives with a focus of being “in Camden, of Camden, for Camden.” Camden is located less than an hour’s drive northeast of Syracuse.
During her keynote address, Perusse described the evolution of The Camden Life Center and how she wanted to tailor its services to the needs of the rural community.
“We don’t need mega, multiple agencies providing tons of services,” Perusse said. “We need partnerships with agencies that are willing to understand our rural culture without changing our values and beliefs.
“It wasn’t easy; we had to earn the trust of our residents,” she continued. “It took time, consistency, and showing up time and time again to show that I’m not just a provider, I’m your neighbor.”
Perusse noted that the national shortage of mental health providers is even worse in rural communities, where “the work can be very lonely.” She said the challenges in Camden were intensified this winter, when 30 feet of snow fell in the area and caused the collapse of several homes and businesses.
“I was struck by the magnitude of destruction in our community, and it hurts my social worker heart to think how we’re going to recover from this,” Perusse said.
Perusse regularly supervises Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) students as interns at The Camden Life Center and plays an integral role in connecting students to research and practice. Perusse and Ken Marfilius, Assistant Dean of Online Education in Falk College and Associate Teaching Professor of Social Work, were colleagues on the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans team in the Syracuse VA Medical Center and that work helped inform ongoing collaborations between Perusse and Syracuse University.
Marfilius, who introduced Perusse at Social Justice Award event, and Assistant Professor of Social Work Xiafei Wang, worked on one grant project with The Camden Life Center and recently started a second one. The first project in 2023-24 involved a $350,000 grant from the CFLR/Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties. That project utilized the lens of social determinants of health and trauma-informed behavioral health approaches to identify and address the unmet service needs of rural residents in Camden, aiming to enhance the quality of care provided by The Camden Life Center.
For the current project, which received an $839,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Marfilius and Wang are serving as the research team for the Camden Life Center’s launch of the Community Café Initiative. This partnership between CFLR and The Camden Life Center is designed to foster connection, resilience, and well-being for families and individuals in Camden and its surrounding communities.
Perusse said for this latest initiative to be successful, she and her team will need continued support so they can support those in need in Camden.
“If you know a social worker who works in a rural community, check on them and offer support and encouragement and help them be seen,” Perusse said. “Thank you for this time and the attention you brought to this very important theme.”
The Social Justice Award ceremony was moderated by social work graduate students from the Social Workers United student organization. The students who participated in the event included Gideon Casper, Mary Claytor, Madeline Heintz, Taylor Koennecke, and Allan Zheng.
The School of Social Work was founded in 1955 and opened in 1956 after Syracuse University received a major grant from the Rosamond Gifford Charitable Corporation. In 2024, the School of Social Work was ranked by U.S. News and World Report as among the “Best Schools of Social Work” in the country, and its national profile will continue to rise with the start of the prestigious Genovese Scholars Program that was created recently through a $300,000 gift to the school.
The School of Social Work is known for its long history of community impact and outreach, including annual donation drives organized by Social Workers United. On July 1, the School of Social Work will move to Syracuse University’s School of Education to enhance the academic and community impact of the program, grow enrollment, drive research excellence, and strengthen the University’s long-standing commitment to preparing professionals to thrive in human, health and social services.