Member named ‘Social
Worker of the Year’By M.K. Fottrell
In 1966, PEF activist Howard Henry was trying to decide
between becoming a minister or a history teacher.
“I didn’t feel saintly enough to be a
minister,” Henry says. “And I didn’t
really want to teach at that time.”
So, he decided to study at the McCormick Theological
Seminary, which combined aspects of ministry and social
work. After a year, Henry chose to pursue social work.
Apparently, he made the right choice. In April, Henry was
named “Social Worker of the Year” by the
Western Division of The New York State Chapter of the
National Association of Social Workers.
Henry, who is a social worker 2 at Stutzman Addiction
Treatment Center in Buffalo, has been active in PEF from
its start. He is a Division 311 council leader, a member
of the Region 1 Political Action Committee, and PEF PAL
to state Assembly Member Sam Hoyt.
Henry is also an adjunct professor at Buffalo State
College, where he lectures on social work and is a field
educator — exposing students to the work of the
state Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services and
mentoring them.
Very active in his church, Henry is a strong advocate for
the “More Light” Presbyterians — an
organization within the Presbyterian Church (USA)
that’s “trying to help the church see its way
clear to ordain and accept gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people.”
Henry is coordinator of Stutzman’s Family Education
Program. And although he is a supervisor, he sometimes
still works directly with clients.
While he enjoys the intensive social work with the
residential clients at Stutzman, Henry admits, “It
can be very difficult. The greatest challenge is to be
innovative and creative in helping people who are feeling
angry and hurt, to find the little bit of hope that
exists for them and help it grow.”
But just getting help for the clients, isn’t enough,
he says. “The key is to involve their families in
the process.”
All of the patient, hard work is worth it, he says, when
he is able to “help people find new life, new
hope.”
Henry’s very low-key approach to his work and
achievements is a major reason he was nominated by fellow
PEF member and social worker David Chudy for the Social
Worker of the Year award.
“Howard is one of those terrifically decent human
beings who very unassumingly, yet deliberately, go about
their lives quietly doing everything they can to better
the lives of others.”
To Henry, it’s all still a work in progress.
“When I started out,” he says, “I just
wanted to be kind. I’m still working on trying to
achieve that.”