We are so proud that Links Group trustee and the UK’s first veterinary social worker, Rebecca Stephens, has received a Heart of Veterinary Social Work award in ‘The Link Between Human & Animal Violence’ category at the recent annual International Association of Veterinary Social Work Summit.
This event ran from 13-16 October in Toronto, where Rebecca travelled to present a session on ‘Making the Unknown Known: Pioneering Interdisciplinary Collaboration Between Veterinary and Social Work Practice in the UK’. In this talk, Rebecca explored her work in the development of Veterinary Social Work and Human Support in the UK, specifically the UK’s first embedded vet school Veterinary Human Support Worker, a role taken up by Rhonda Hopkins.
This role was created early in 2026, following a tremendous amount of work between the CEO of Langford Vets, veterinary surgeon Hattie Lawrence, her team based at the Bristol Vet School site, and Rebecca. You can read more about this in Rebecca’s own words here.
Congratulations Rebecca, and yet another well-deserved award to add to your growing collection as you continue to blaze this trail in the UK – your colleagues at The Links Group couldn’t be prouder!
Event photographs – credit and courtesy from IAVSW
