103-year-old Elvera Sue Oppliger (SW ’53), who graduated with her Master of Social Work from Tulane in 1953, is no stranger to change. An avid activist and changemaker, she made waves in Louisiana politics on multiple fronts.

On top of her active roles in the civil rights and feminist movements, her career as a social worker would go on to change the future of mental health care in Louisiana. In 1963, President Kennedy signed into law a decree that mental institutions were to be replaced by community mental health centers, which would allow patients to live and receive care in their communities.

Oppliger helped to lead this transition in North Louisiana. She was one of the first three people employed at Shreveport’s brand-new mental health center in 1965. As the director of community services for the Shreveport Mental Health Center, Oppliger established community infrastructure to rehabilitate and socialize schizophrenic children who had previously been held in state institutions.

“We built support systems, set up social clubs in women’s groups and churches, and they met every week to help patients reintegrate to society,” Oppliger said. “We also helped high school and college students tutor the children.”

She helped design an integrated volunteer program to develop academic confidence and social skills. “Volunteers can play a vital role in community mental health programs, not only by augmenting available manpower but by focusing on and reinforcing the healthier aspects of the patients’ functioning,” Oppliger wrote in a 1971 article published in the journal Psychiatric Services.

In the first four years of the program’s existence, it impacted some 111 children, later blooming into a parish-wide program hundreds of volunteers and children strong.

Oppliger retired from full-time social work in 1979, though she continued to do consultation work, picked up real estate and antiquing jobs, continued her volunteerism, and traveled to at least 45 countries.

“At 103, I’m still very much a part of and care about what’s going on. I read the newspaper every day and keep up with things that are going on,” Oppliger said. “I’ve stayed active in every way — in my community, in my body, in my mind.”

She remains committed to service, dedicating time to her church and the many valuable friendships she has fostered during her journey. So, what does she have to say to today’s social workers? One thing: “Keep working. All we can do is continue to work.”