CIP Phoenix Director Stacy Moreno Shares Her Experience in Greece

CIF Hellas (Greece) Hosted Stacy and Four other Global Social Workers for an International Professional Exchange Program in Spring 2024

What motivated you to choose CIF Hellas (Greece) as your study abroad destination?

I joined CIF in 2013 and have been influenced tremendously in both my personal and professional life since then in so many ways.  For many years I have been wanting to participate again, but it is not always easy to find the time between work and home obligations.  I decided “the time is now!”, as it’s easy to find reasons to prolong things but I did not want to fall into that habit.  I am currently in my last year of a Doctoral program in Social Work (at Monmouth University) with an emphasis on Human Rights Leadership.  I was at a time where I was refining my capstone project, and I knew it would focus on migration in some way, and I decided that the CIF Hellas (Greece) program would be a great program to participate in at this time.  It offered the opportunity to explore a global comparison between my U.S. Southwest border (in Arizona) to the European border and experiences through a social work lens. And after meeting the CIF Hellas members, I knew that they loved their branch, loved CIF, and worked hard to create a meaningful program for us. 

How does the social services system in Greece differ from the U.S.?

The program was set up in a wonderful way; throughout the first week we met with several organizations to get a framework of how social work and the social service system worked, including a historical context, the social work education system, city/government systems, and the NGO sector.  I think that in theory there is such a similarity in the way social services are working, as our value systems carry the thread of similarity between us (all), but one thing that stood out to me was the lack of systemic infrastructure in child welfare. I say this with respect to the hard-working social workers and those in government who truly work hard to create policy and tirelessly push for better systems.  The will is there, the knowledge and capacity is there, but with financial shortfalls (and I’m sure other things along the way), have had an impact on this sector. Several times we had frank conversations with amazing social workers about the need to focus more on creating better systems and policies around child welfare. It has left me with a spark - although we (social workers in the U.S.) also have many areas in which improvements are needed, we do have a robust, expansive, and thorough child protection system. I wonder how we can continue to support our colleagues with professional development and support in this area.

Can you share any memorable interactions you had with locals?

Anyone who has gone on a CIF program knows- the best part of the programs are the people.  Sightseeing, food, agency visits…they are all amazing and experiences one cannot get in the same way through independent travel.  But what stands out and is long lasting are the relationships that are nurtured in this intimate and “up close” exchange with people who share the history of CIF with one another, and a profession-social work is not a job that I do, but part of who I am as a person.  There is one specific interaction with locals that does stand out to me, beyond the interactions with my CIF peers.  In my second week I met with several organizations that work with refugees. Babel is a small agency that addresses mental health needs of refugees and other migrants.  I was curious to understand how trauma is addressed with this population, as the trauma that they face (pre migration, on the migration journey, and post migration) is of interest to me.  The founder, and staff, welcomed me in as one of their own.  The founder realized that at midday they would be having their “music and movement” group, and asked if I wanted to participate.  How could I say no to this?!  The class was intimate, with two people participating-a woman from Algeria and a man from Egypt, plus me (the random American), and the gentle and strong leader, a Greek Music Anthropologist.  The woman was excited by my presence and she worked hard to coach me, as she regularly came, finding it a healing space for her.  A common language of French was used as everyone in the room had different languages they spoke, and she would then speak in Spanish to me to ensure I was included.  She brought me, the outsider, under her wing, welcomed me, was uninhibited in her music and movement, and encouraged me to lose my own inhibitions in this space.  This refugee, the class coach, and the organization itself, made an impact on my journey and also showed me ways that healing can occur.

If you could do it all over again, would you change anything about your experience?

NO.  I can always wish I had more money, more space to buy more souvenirs, more time to travel throughout Greece so that I can leave with a more diverse awareness of the country. It was lovely seeing Athens and exploring social work here, but it was also wonderful when we traveled outside of Athens. There is only so much time, but if I had the ability to do it again I would plan much more so that I could see more after the program ended. I am so very thankful for the people I met in Greece. CIF Hellas has the most amazing members!!! Their cohesiveness and kindness left such a mark on me. I also LOVED my other peers!! I hope we will stay in contact and see each other again (and again, and again).  It was wonderful just as it was. Now, my next mission is to find ways to get the word out to others in the U.S., practicing social workers who have never heard of CIF and to encourage them to become participants.  It is a wonderful way to grow, personally and professionally.

CIF Hellas (Greece) Hosted Stacy and Four other Global Social Workers for an International Professional Exchange Program in May and June

What motivated you to choose CIF Hellas (Greece) as your study abroad destination?

I joined CIF in 2013 and have been influenced tremendously in both my personal and professional life since then in so many ways.  For many years I have been wanting to participate again, but it is not always easy to find the time between work and home obligations.  I decided “the time is now!”, as it’s easy to find reasons to prolong things but I did not want to fall into that habit.  I am currently in my last year of a Doctoral program in Social Work (at Monmouth University) with an emphasis on Human Rights Leadership.  I was at a time where I was refining my capstone project, and I knew it would focus on migration in some way, and I decided that the CIF Hellas (Greece) program would be a great program to participate in at this time.  It offered the opportunity to explore a global comparison between my U.S. Southwest border (in Arizona) to the European border and experiences through a social work lens. And after meeting the CIF Hellas members, I knew that they loved their branch, loved CIF, and worked hard to create a meaningful program for us.  

How does the social services system in Greece differ from the U.S.?

The program was set up in a wonderful way; throughout the first week we met with several organizations to get a framework of how social work and the social service system worked, including a historical context, the social work education system, city/government systems, and the NGO sector.  I think that in theory there is such a similarity in the way social services are working, as our value systems carry the thread of similarity between us (all), but one thing that stood out to me was the lack of systemic infrastructure in child welfare. I say this with respect to the hard-working social workers and those in government who truly work hard to create policy and tirelessly push for better systems.  The will is there, the knowledge and capacity is there, but with financial shortfalls (and I’m sure other things along the way), have had an impact on this sector. Several times we had frank conversations with amazing social workers about the need to focus more on creating better systems and policies around child welfare. It has left me with a spark - although we (social workers in the U.S.) also have many areas in which improvements are needed, we do have a robust, expansive, and thorough child protection system. I wonder how we can continue to support our colleagues with professional development and support in this area.

Can you share any memorable interactions you had with locals?

Anyone who has gone on a CIF program knows- the best part of the programs are the people.  Sightseeing, food, agency visits…they are all amazing and experiences one cannot get in the same way through independent travel.  But what stands out and is long lasting are the relationships that are nurtured in this intimate and “up close” exchange with people who share the history of CIF with one another, and a profession-social work is not a job that I do, but part of who I am as a person.  There is one specific interaction with locals that does stand out to me, beyond the interactions with my CIF peers.  In my second week I met with several organizations that work with refugees. Babel is a small agency that addresses mental health needs of refugees and other migrants.  I was curious to understand how trauma is addressed with this population, as the trauma that they face (pre migration, on the migration journey, and post migration) is of interest to me.  The founder, and staff, welcomed me in as one of their own.  The founder realized that at midday they would be having their “music and movement” group, and asked if I wanted to participate.  How could I say no to this?!  The class was intimate, with two people participating-a woman from Algeria and a man from Egypt, plus me (the random American), and the gentle and strong leader, a Greek Music Anthropologist.  The woman was excited by my presence and she worked hard to coach me, as she regularly came, finding it a healing space for her.  A common language of French was used as everyone in the room had different languages they spoke, and she would then speak in Spanish to me to ensure I was included.  She brought me, the outsider, under her wing, welcomed me, was uninhibited in her music and movement, and encouraged me to lose my own inhibitions in this space.  This refugee, the class coach, and the organization itself, made an impact on my journey and also showed me ways that healing can occur.

If you could do it all over again, would you change anything about your experience?

NO.  I can always wish I had more money, more space to buy more souvenirs, more time to travel throughout Greece so that I can leave with a more diverse awareness of the country. It was lovely seeing Athens and exploring social work here, but it was also wonderful when we traveled outside of Athens. There is only so much time, but if I had the ability to do it again I would plan much more so that I could see more after the program ended. I am so very thankful for the people I met in Greece. CIF Hellas has the most amazing members!!! Their cohesiveness and kindness left such a mark on me. I also LOVED my other peers!! I hope we will stay in contact and see each other again (and again, and again).  It was wonderful just as it was. Now, my next mission is to find ways to get the word out to others in the U.S., practicing social workers who have never heard of CIF and to encourage them to become participants.  It is a wonderful way to grow, personally and professionally.