Social justice movements are part of the fabric of New York City. Woven into the tapestry of this multicultural, diverse metropolis, they serve as a reminder of the city’s sometimes-dark history that stripped the underserved and disadvantaged of their rights and freedoms. But profoundly, it’s also a reminder of the victories that helped reclaim those rights and freedoms.
In NYC, activism means walking out in protest, marching for rights, even yelling from court steps and rooftops. New Yorkers were never a quiet bunch, and social justice here is synonymous with large-scale efforts to give a voice —an unwavering, thunderous voice—to communities of people experiencing discrimination, intolerance, and inequality.
A Legacy of Social Activism on the Streets of New York City
These are just some of the NYC movements that shone a light on national issues that demanded to be heard.
- The Peace March (1967) to end the Vietnam War
- The Stonewall Riots (1969) to protest police raids targeting LGBTQ people in Greenwich Village
- The Anti-Nuclear March (1982), a call for nuclear disarmament
- Occupy Wall Street (2011) to protest income equality and corporate greed
- March for Our Lives (2018) to support stricter gun laws following the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida
- Black Lives Matter protests (2014) to protest police brutality and racially motivated violence toward black people
Social movements have inspired legislation, along with the formation and expansion of programs and services that offer support and resources to people and groups of people struggling under the weight of poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, broken homes, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disability, or mental illness. And at the heart of these efforts are social workers, who commit their careers to acknowledging, valuing, and supporting communities of people.
Social worker jobs in New York City are focused on the health and well-being of others and on helping people overcome crises, achieve or restore social functioning, and cope with hardships. Social work jobs in New York offer challenging but incredibly rewarding career paths for those with a passion for helping others, easing societal woes, and contributing to the greater good.
Social Worker Jobs in New York City: What Does a Social Worker Do in NYC?
“Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.”
Social worker jobs in New York City involve fostering, supporting, and promoting the social good. Social workers are staunch advocates for the city’s most vulnerable populations, including children, seniors, and those with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. Because of the broad scope of the job, social workers are nearly always in demand.
In governmental settings, they analyze policies and programs to determine their effectiveness. They’re involved in politics and activism, proposing legislation and fostering and developing networks of people and groups focused on a common goal. But they’re also on the streets, identifying people in need and providing them with crisis intervention services and resources. They’re working in community clinics, serving as one of the first points of contact for those suffering from homelessness, substance abuse, or mental illness and those escaping domestic violence and sexual assault. They’re in schools, providing children, educators, and staff with crisis counseling and assessing those with behavioral and mental health issues. And they’re a valuable part of interdisciplinary teams in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and correctional facilities, providing counseling for both individuals and their families and connecting them with community resources.
As of January 2024, the New York State Education Department reported a total of 13,386 Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSW) in the five boroughs of New York City. Yet there is always a need for more in NYC schools, hospitals, the courts, mental health facilities, nonprofits, and more.
Whether you’re in Staten Island or Manhattan, there are countless opportunities to make a difference in NYC’s social work profession anywhere in the five boroughs.
Social Work Jobs in Staten Island
School Social Worker Jobs in New York City
Consisting of more than one million students and more than 1,800 schools, New York City Public Schools is the largest public school system in the United States. The school system here encompasses all five boroughs and has an operating budget of more than $27 billion. Social worker jobs in NYC’s public schools totaled 1,951 as of the 2022-2023 school year.
Usually working as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team of psychologists, school counselors, and nurses, social workers provide vital services to the city’s student population. School social work job duties are extensive, although they’re primarily responsible for providing counseling to students experiencing behavioral and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In some cases, they are part of crisis teams that help the student population navigate serious issues like the loss of a student or faculty member or community issues such as gang violence and crime.
Walking Out for Change: Bayard Rustin and the 1964 Freedom Day Boycott
“Let us be enraged about injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.”
~ Bayard Rustin
On February 3, 1964, Bayard Rustin became a household name. It was during this time that he organized the largest and arguably the most significant demonstration of the Civil Rights movement: the New York City School Boycott, also known as the Freedom Day Boycott.
Rustin worked with civil rights organizations to plan the boycott of the NYC public school system in an effort to push for full integration of the city’s public schools and end segregation.
Thanks to Rustin’s efforts, on February 3, 1964, more than 460,000 students (largely African-American and Puerto Rican) either stayed home or walked out of classrooms to join the Freedom Day Boycott.
Protests that day took place in front of City Hall and at 300 of the city’s schools. It’s estimated that in some parts of Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, absentee rates reached upwards of 95 percent. And more than 4,000 teachers joined in on the walkout, despite warnings from the superintendent and mayor. Protestors across the city joined together and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, finally descending upon the Board of Education headquarters in Brooklyn.
Healthcare Social Worker Jobs in New York City
For healthcare social work jobs, there’s no other region of the country that can compete with New York City. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the NYC metro area was home to 20,340 healthcare social worker jobs as of May 2023, making it the top metro area in the nation for employment of these professionals. The next largest metro area for the employment of healthcare social workers, according to the BLS, was Los Angeles, with 8,250 jobs – a mere fraction of New York City.
There are no less than 65 hospitals spread throughout NYC’s five boroughs. There are big names like Beth Israel Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, as well as the massive NYC Health + Hospitals system, the largest municipal healthcare system in the country. The system consists of 11 hospitals, 30 Gotham Health centers, and five long-term care facilities.
NYC’s Public Hospitals
- Bellevue Hospital Center
- Elmhurst Hospital Center
- Harlem Hospital Center
- Jacobi Medical Center
- Kings County Hospital Center
- Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
- Metropolitan Hospital Center
- North Central Bronx Hospital
- Queens Hospital Center
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital
- Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center
Gotham Health sites include six large centers, along with many smaller sites located strategically in high-need areas. Gotham Health was formed in 2015 in response to a growing need for healthcare in NYC’s most underserved communities. They treat all patients, regardless of their ability to pay or their immigration status.
Social workers throughout the NYC Health + Hospitals system work throughout Gotham Health, as well as in their Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative (DVS), Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD), Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW), and Office of Behavioral Health – Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
Child Welfare Social Worker Jobs in New York City
According to the BLS, child welfare social work jobs in New York City are abundant. As of May 2023, the BLS reported 19,360 child, family, and school social worker jobs, putting it among the metro areas with the highest number of child welfare social workers.
Jobs in child welfare social work in NYC are found primarily through the Administration for Children’s Services, the agency responsible for promoting the safety and well-being of NYC’s children. Services here are focused on child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care and education services. ACS often contracts with private, nonprofit organizations to help at-risk families connect with preventive services and provide foster care services to children who cannot remain in the home.
In 2021, the ACS created the Family Assessment Program (FAP) and contracted with five nonprofits to provide support and intervention services to families with youth who are at-risk of being removed from the home due to mental health or behavioral challenges, criminal activities, or substance use. Social workers are an important part of this program, providing assessments and counseling to more than 3,500 families annually. Social workers may be part of the ACS or employed by the program’s nonprofits, which include Children’s Aid, The Children’s Village, Community Mediation Services, JBFCS and New York Foundling.
Child welfare social workers in NYC are also found working for private companies that work with the courts to offer individual social services. For example, social workers with Comprehensive Family Services are appointed as Neutral Court Evaluators that conduct assessments related to custody, visitation, child protection, and criminal defense. They also serve as expert witnesses who provide recommendations to the courts.
Mental Health Social Worker Jobs in New York City
According to the BLS, at 10,460 jobs, the NYC metro area was home to the highest number of mental health and substance abuse social work jobs in the nation as of May 2023.
Mental health services are an important part of the NYC Health + Hospitals system, with mental health social work jobs most plentiful at locations like Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center and Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, and in programs like the Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative (DVS), Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD), Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW), and Office of Behavioral Health – Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
They’re also valuable members of interdisciplinary healthcare teams in the city’s many other hospitals and mental health facilities like Lenox Hill Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, and the Beth Israel Medical Center.
But mental health social worker jobs are also in demand in the city’s nonprofit domain, too. These professionals often work with the Mental Health Association of New York State (MHANYS), a nonprofit with more than 30 local Mental Health Associations that serve 54 counties throughout the state, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Of New York City (NAMI-NYC). Mental health social workers assess, counsel, and refer individuals in locations ranging from mobile clinics to community health centers.
Substance Abuse Social Worker Jobs in New York City
Social workers are a vital component of NYC’s efforts to combat the drug epidemic plaguing the city. According to NYC Health, someone dies every three hours from a drug overdose in New York City. Rising rates of fentanyl and xylazine use have created a demand for increased mental health and social supports for this at-risk population.
Substance abuse social work jobs in New York City are found everywhere from hospital systems to mental health facilities to homeless shelters. In these kinds of positions they provide assessments and counseling for people afflicted with substance use disorder and their families, along with referrals to specialized care and services these folks may need.
Jobs for substance abuse social workers are found in NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports and in countless nonprofits and community agencies throughout the city. Just a few of the job titles and employers of substance abuse social workers in NYC include:
- Substance abuse counselor, Realization Center New York City (outpatient treatment center for chemical dependency)
- Addiction Medicine Social Worker, St. Barnabas Hospital
- Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) – Social Work.er, New York-Presbyterian, Gracie Square Hospital
- Therapist/Counselor for outpatient Substance Use Program, Metropolitan Center for Mental Health
- Addiction Counselor, Harlem Hospital Center
- Substance Abuse/Mental Health Counselor, Child and Family Guidance Center Addiction Services
- Social Worker, Services for The Underserved, Inc.
- Licensed Master Social Worker, Kingsboro Addiction Treatment Center
Get Involved! New York City Offers Endless Opportunities to Volunteer for Social Justice Causes
Looking for ways to become part of the change you want to see in the world? New York City is home to no shortage of exciting social justice organizations that are supported by a strong community of volunteers. Here are some of our favorites:
The Center for Racial Justice in Education
Located in the heart of the Bronx, the Center for Racial Justice in Education’s goal is to “train and empower educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in our schools and communities.”
The Center provides access, resources, safety, and power to People of Color who have experienced discrimination and racism and works to create new relationships and institutions that honor people of all color.
The Center spreads its message through programs like the Community of Anti-Racist Educators (CARE) Leadership program, which offers trainings, workshops, and discussions that allow participants to broaden their understanding of race and racism, particularly as it relates to schools and classrooms.
Volunteerism with the Center ranges from fundraising support to outreach to data entry and website design.
The Audre Lorde Project
In Brooklyn, the Audre Lorde Project is a center that addresses the struggle against discrimination and other forms of oppression for lesbian, gay, bisexual, two spirit, trans, and gender non-conforming People of Color. The center focuses on community organizing throughout the NYC area. First established by Advocates for Gay Men of Color in 1994, the ALP has since grown to become a major voice in social justice. The ALP works with organizations and communities to develop and implement programs that address and reflect the needs of the communities it serves.
New York Communities for Change (NYCC)
New York Communities for Change, located in Brooklyn, works to help improve lives and communities and bring neighbors together to build community power. Through advocacy, community organizing, and direct action, NYCC fights for safe, affordable, and stable homes and neighborhoods and against evictions and displacements.
NYCC addresses issues like high rents, poor living conditions, climate change, violence, low wages, and lack of a social safety net that prevent people from living in safe and healthy communities. They’ve organized major events that included achieving a $15 minimum wage in New York and establishing Housing Justice for All, a statewide coalition of tenants. During the pandemic, they help tenants and immigrants receive pandemic relief, and they’ve helped NYCC members win a number of anti-discrimination lawsuits.
Volunteers here can become members of neighborhood groups in East Harlem, Far Rockaway, and Suffolk, where they work to implement and operate food pantries, community gardens, and community education programs.
Homeless Outreach Social Worker Jobs in New York City
Social work jobs aimed at homeless outreach are found in New York City’s Department of Homeless Services, a city agency that’s focused on preventing homelessness and offering services and resources to those battling homelessness throughout NYC.
Along with their not-for-profit partners, the Department of Homeless Services provides shelter and offers direct services through their DHS intake centers. They also provide counseling services for those at risk of losing their homes and homeless outreach services that include drop-in centers for those who aren’t ready to commit to shelter placement.
Social workers focused on homelessness serve as street outreach workers and case managers, counseling people experiencing homelessness, or at risk of becoming homeless, and helping them secure life-sustaining resources and services.
Military Veteran Social Worker Jobs in New York City
The largest number of military veteran social workers in NYC is found in the VA system. Social workers at VA facilities like the Bronx VA Medical Center provide clinical interventions that range from crisis intervention to address immediate concerns including everything from medical problems to drug relapse, and long-term interventions for those at risk of homelessness. They counsel members of the military, veterans, and their families and connect them with resources and services that address their unique needs, stemming from everything from combat related injury and trauma to substance abuse. Social workers that help the military and veterans are often part of interdisciplinary healthcare teams that address a full range of needs.
They’re also an important part of the VA’s social programs, which address the needs of veterans with serious illnesses and disabilities and help connect them with everything from affordable housing to free healthcare.
Military veteran social workers are also valuable members of the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC) which, in 2009, began refocusing their efforts largely on veteran mental health and substance abuse issues. They partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of NYC to create the Veterans’ Mental Health Coalition of New York City (VMHC-NYC). The VMHC-NYC, alongside the Veterans’ Health Alliance of Long Island, addresses the mental health needs of both service members and veterans.
Social Worker Salary in New York City – All 5 Boroughs
There’s no getting around it – New York City is expensive. In a place where studio apartments in Manhattan hover around $3,000 a month to rent and a Starbucks latte is guaranteed to set you back $10, financial security as a social worker in the Five Boroughs may seem out of reach.
But not so fast. In the field of social work, salaries here tend to be commensurate with the higher cost of living.
For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), social workers in New York City focused on mental health and substance abuse earned a cool average salary of $98,480 as of May 2023, making them the highest paid in the nation. The only metro area that came close was Long Angeles, where mental health and substance abuse social workers earned almost $20k less.
And while child, family, and school social workers in the NYC area had an average salary that fell quite a bit below those in mental health and substance abuse —$78,610 —, they ranked third in the nation for their average salary as of May 2023.
When considering salaries for social workers in NYC, it can be assumed that median salaries here generally reflect those with undergraduate degrees in the field, while the top salaries (those in the 75th – 90th percentile) reflect those who have gone on to earn an MSW and the LCSW or LMSW credential.
Occupation | Employment | Annual mean wage | Annual median wage | Annual 75th percentile wage | Annual 90th percentile wage |
Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 19,360 | $78,610 | $74,470 | $95,550 | $114,300 |
Healthcare Social Workers | 20,340 | $69,870 | $62,610 | $81,720 | $100,300 |
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 10,460 | $98,480 | $78,380 | $99,790 | $189,590 |
Social and Human Service Assistants | 31,020 | $49,960 | $47,060 | $58,320 | $70,040 |
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Social Workers reflect state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2024.