“I don’t know that I would be where I am today or even alive to be completely frank…” A tale from the Alabama Gulf coast
A lot of us remember people who made a difference in our lives. Some of these individuals earn recognition for their achievements, while others work in obscurity. One person who’s getting the spotlight for what she does is social worker Denise Riemer. She just won the School Social Work Change Agent Award. The honor is for an Alabama School Social Worker who enhances the lives of at-risk students and families. Twenty years ago, Riemer was the first social worker hired by the Mobile County Public School System. She has helped the department grow to a team of 13 licensed social workers caring for the well-being of students in the state’s largest schools system.
Denise Riemer has a title and it’s a whopper. She’s Lead Social Worker, Homeless and Foster Care Liason, and Mental Health Service coordinator in the Mobile County Public School System at the district level coordinating social services with 91 campuses and 53,000 students who study there.
“When I first started, the principal of the high school said to me, “You do realize you're the only one, right?” said Riemer.
It bears noting that over two thousand of these youngsters are homeless. The numbers and needs can be overwhelming. But, one by one Riemer helps students through crisis and trauma. Sometimes she’s the first adult they trust or believe is on their side.
“The cool thing about being a social worker in the education setting is that you know for a fact that the changes that you help kids make are gonna ripple into that family or vice versa.” Riemer said.
Riemer’s department has come a long way as schools recognize the importance of social and emotional support for students. Funding from the so-called CARES Act is also playing an important role in that growth.
“More social workers, more counselors, more resource officers, and more nurses. We call them safety teams. That’s the people who are kind of behind the scenes, doing that supportive work. That’s where we come in. We’re kind of like the best supportive actors behind the educators,” Riemer observed.
Riemer originally wanted to be a lawyer. But after college, she was a legislative aide for Senator John Breaux of Louisiana. Her job was working on social issues in education. During grad school, a ride along with a school nurse led to Reimer making a career change. She felt being a social worker in schools was where she could make the biggest impact. The timing was right. That’s because the Mobile Public School System was looking for its first social worker.
“I've seen amazing stories of kids who lived in motels and who are now educated, productive citizens in our community. Really all over the country,” said Riemer.
“I think that she showed me that there were good people in the world, and I was worth being cared for,” said Liz Milne.
She was a high school student in foster care when she met Riemer. Today she is a teacher in Jordan for a school serving the children of relief workers who are helping refugees from Syria and Iraq.
“I think there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have lived through high school. And I definitely wouldn’t have gone to college. I was pretty depressed at times, but because I knew that I was loved, I was able to survive. I would feel like I was going to hurt myself or something, then I knew that she would be sad if I did that, so I didn't do it. I thought, oh, well, I'm sad now, but maybe I'll see Mrs. Riemer tomorrow and that'll make me happy, so I should stay alive,” Milne recalled.
Liz wanted to help people because people helped her. Because of Riemer, she started noticing marginalized people in need.
“There is not many reasons people should have paid attention to me because I was just this kid, but she did. My parents weren't loving on me the way it's ideal that parents do, but the refugees are sort of the same. They're placed like a kid in foster care. Because I had somebody who loved me, I want to love people who are displaced,” Milne said.
Some of Riemer’s students call her Mama.
“She's like a therapist and a mom, and a social worker in one, I think that's the best way to put it,” said Isaiah Downey. He is now majoring in health informatics at the University of South Alabama.
“Whenever I ran away from home because it was an abusive home. She provided me with food and comfort, which is really the main thing that I needed because I was scared to go home every single day. She got me therapy in school, which I didn't even know was a thing.” I grew up in a poor and abusive home with abusive family members and my family member’s friends. That was one of the first acts of kindness that I had received from an adult figure.”
Helping students and families in crisis keeps Riemer up late and wakes her up early. She continues to provide love, support, and advice to her students even after high school.
“I felt really supported and loved by her,” said Amanda Reed-Coolidge. She recently completed acting school in New York and is starting her career.
“I don’t know that I would be where I am today or even alive to be completely frank. I had a really difficult time in my life and I was struggling mentally. There were times that I didn't know where I was gonna be sleeping. It was just so crucial to have someone that was willing to walk me through things and provide those five basic needs that we all need as humans. It’s so much more rampant than you realize and there are a lot of homeless teens that just fall through the cracks. And I'm really, really thankful that because of Denise none of that happened.”
Riemer says she has learned that people, especially children, are resilient. And, that they still have joy, curiosity, and the will to thrive and survive. She wants to help her students enjoy childhood without adult issues pressing in.
“I never want to assume that they're not doing their best. I'm always in awe of what these people are carrying with them and how much they can get accomplished with everything they have on their shoulders. That's what I've learned.
Riemer says every school needs community partners to help look after students and their families. She says these volunteers can do things like start up a food pantry, a clothes closet, or they can give to a school donation account to help kids who don't have money for snacks or field trips.
