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Alex Elkins Is Pursuing an MSW Degree and Working in a Groundbreaking Program

Posted by Billy Chandler

Alex Elkins wants us to learn a new word today: decarceration.

Alex is pursuing a master’s in social work degree from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in New York. Part of the program requires her to be placed in a variety of programs to get some real-world experience, and she is currently working at the Center for Justice Innovation in the felony alternatives to incarceration program. In short, this is a program offering alternatives to incarceration – or decarceration.

Alex says this program in Manhattan is the first in the country, and it is aimed more at growth opportunities than punishment. Even in the short time she’s been working there, she has seen successes – and her face beams while talking about one of the “graduates” of the program who has been able to forego prison time and is now working in a meaningful job and moving in a positive direction.

Alternatives often include things like identifying mental health programming, helping someone find a job, helping them establish a positive social network, and being an advocate for the person who has gotten in trouble. Alex enjoys being a personal cheerleader for the people who are now trying hard to get their lives worked out.

Social work wasn’t Alex’s first career goal. She was a theatre major at Emory & Henry, but when the pandemic shut down theatres around the world, she considered that she might want to move into a new direction. “I had always been interested in programs that offered help to people, so social work seemed like the right move.”

But she hasn’t given up on the arts, and she has recently really been enjoying a class in using the arts in social work. “The class is about using the arts in a way that helps social workers keep their own mental health strong, but also about how to use art in working with our clients.”

She is also in a location where she can easily consume art. “I go to the Met every couple of weeks, I go to Broadway shows, sometimes there’s a band on the subway!” And, one of her favorite artistic expressions is in making playlists on a given topic.

You can enjoy a lively conversation with Alex on the Duck Pond Wall podcast.

Open gallery

Alex Elkins Emory & Henry Class of 2020
Alex Elkins
Emory & Henry Class of 2020

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  • <div class="lw_news_image"><span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/news/1432-sundi-smith-herring-eamph-97-participating-in"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,39,273,312/8633_denim_and_diamonds.rev.1602017380.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,39,273,312/8633_denim_and_diamonds.rev.1602017380.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,39,273,312/8633_denim_and_diamonds.rev.1602017380.jpg" alt="Sundi Smith Herring E&H Class of 1997" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="273" data-max-h="273" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span></div><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_news_headline"><a href="/live/news/1432-sundi-smith-herring-eamph-97-participating-in">Sundi Smith Herring (E&H ’97) Participating in Covid Vaccine Trials</a></h4></div>