Q&A with Nancy Williams: ‘Drastic' rise in mental health needs

Nancy Williams has been a school social worker for the Owatonna school district since 1993.

She has worked in nearly all OPS buildings in the past 32 years and is currently the lead social worker for the district social work department and works at the high school. 

Williams earned her BSW from Bemidji State University in 1992. She received her master’s in social work from the College of St. Catherine/University of St. Thomas in 2001, earned her LICSW, and provides supervision to many social workers seeking their clinical licensure.

Williams has also been an active member of her community and state, serving as a board member for nonprofit agencies such as Advocates for Developmental Disabilities and From the Heart, has been a Big for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and chaired Huskies Tackle Cancer. She has worked as an adjunct professor with Concordia St. Paul College in the master’s in education cohort, teaching Family Systems and Children’s Mental Health courses.

She founded and runs the Owatonna Husky Pantry, which provides needed food, clothing, hygiene and school supplies to OHS students in need, especially those identified as homeless or FIT (families in transition).

Williams is married to Jeff, who is a biology teacher and the head football coach for the Owatonna Huskies, and has two sons, Matthew, a first-year special education teacher at McKinley and a football and baseball coach, and Nicholas, a senior at St. John's University majoring in Global Business.

Organization/Title: School social worker at Owatonna High School and lead social worker for the School Social Work Department at Owatonna Public Schools, which includes 12 full-time school social workers.

What inspired you to go into your line of work? I’ve always had a helping heart. I knew early on that I wanted to support individuals with mental health needs and working with children has always been a passion for me, so School Social Work was the perfect combination. I’ve been doing it for 33 years now and still love my job.

What programs/services does your organization offer and why are they important to the community? School Social Workers in the Owatonna Public Schools support students from early childhood through 12th grade. We are the mental health professionals in the buildings who have expertise in understanding and treating mental health disorders that impact children at all developmental stages. We work closely with families as well and are the link between school, home and the community, making connections and referrals to community agencies as needed.

We support our students who qualify as homeless or “FIT” (families in transition) by providing needed resources in school such as school supplies, food, access to funding for athletics, transportation, clubs, school-related activities and educating school staff on how to respond and support students with unstable housing or food insecurity issues.

How has funding from the State, Federal, or local government impacted your organization? If the school district levy does not pass in November, we will likely have to cut some school social work services which will negatively impact many, many students in need. Also, if the levy does not pass, class sizes and other student support services will be impacted, leaving students without the needed resources in school to be successful.

What is one thing your organization has done in the past year that you are most proud of? At OHS, I’m most proud of the OHS Husky Pantry which I have established and continue to run at Owatonna High School. The pantry operates solely on donations from the community and through this I am able to help students at OHS in need with food for the evenings/weekends, school supplies, hygiene products, clothing, winter wear and even smart bus tickets. This is a vital resource for our students who qualify as FIT as well as for those whose families are living in significant poverty. 

How have the roles of social workers changed over your career? I have witnessed a drastic increase in student mental health needs. Social media has had a negative impact on children and their mental health. I've noticed more and more families struggling to get by; rent and housing costs are through the roof and many more families cannot afford to live on their own so many are doubled up with extended family or friends, in an effort to save money. The school social workers partner on a regular basis with Community Pathways, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Rachel's Light, Transitional Housing, MNPrairie County Alliance and other nonprofit agencies in Owatonna on behalf of our students and families in need.