Practicing Social Work in Deprived Communities: Competencies, Methods, and Techniques

ISBN-13: 9783030659868 / Angielski / Twarda / 2021 / 265 str.

Ana Opačic

Spis treści

Part I: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Deprived Communities

1         Understanding deprived communities globally; Author: Ana Opacic

In this chapter different meanings of deprived communities are discussed and positioned within a specific global context. These meanings refer to the following concepts: ˝low income˝, ˝impoverished˝, ˝vulnerable˝, ˝remote˝, ˝disadvantaged˝, ˝undeserved˝, ˝less favoured˝ community, ˝slum˝, ˝ghetto˝, ˝favela˝. Different deprived communities are classified in five groups. The first group is based on lower income or health indicators as a proxy for poverty. The second group is the deprived community and based on a multidimensional approach that can be compared with non-deprived neighborhoods. The third group consists of marginalized, disadvantaged, and less favored communities with a focus on development trajectories within a wider social context. The fourth group reflects communities with a severe exposure to risks that result from geographical isolation in remote communities. In the fifth group, there are so-called controversial communities in urban settings that do not differ solely from their surroundings, but also exhibit a specific lifestyle and identity leading towards stigmatization in a wider context.

2         Effects of deprived community on personal well-being and community processes; Author: Ana Opacic

In this chapter the author discusses what it means to live in a deprived community based on systematic literature review. Deprived community as a context produces adverse effects on both the individual level and community level. Existing research show that people who live in a deprived community face poverty, higher rates of crime, and have lower health and education prospects. In deprived communities lack of social services is notable. Research show that deprived communities are characterized by community processes such as segregation, exclusion, and lower sense of autonomy, resilience, and empowerment. In this chapter the author places these effects in the frame of theoretical approach, such as community development theory, diversity, and multicultural context and community resilience.

 

Part II. Social Work Practices in Deprived Communities Throughout the World

3 Community development principles in the context of deprived communities. Authors: Ana Opacic, Carmen Luca Sugawara, Nino Žganec

In this chapter the authors outline central principles of community development and position them within the frame of deprived communities. Specific attention is given to principles of autonomy (including community participation, ownership, self-help), principles of inclusive communities (advocacy, access and equity, inclusion), and principles of active communities (social action, networking, empowerment, lifelong learning). Many times deprived communities as systems demonstrate system archetypes that suggest challenges of implementing community development principles into practice. For example, deprived communities may demonstrate addiction on external relief; there is a strong sense of powerlessness, communities may face stigmatization, and communities with scarce resources may develop inner inequalities and lack of trust towards community structures. These challenges are supported through empirical findings and the authors outline the importance of these principles for sustainable community development. 

4         Strategies for increasing community engagement in a community with a lack of perspectives, Author Baiju P.Vareed
Engaging community or following participatory practice in development was initiated by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and subsequently by various government departments. Working with stakeholders in communities demands an understanding of the local culture, social milieu, and power dynamics. Local problems need local solutions as well as support and resources from outside of the community. Community engagement is imperative while working with culturally diverse countries like India, where there is no one-size-fits-all. The vast voluntary sector comprising community-based staff of NGOs and trained social workers have vigorously embraced engagement since the last decade of the last century.  Community agencies ensure involvement of stakeholders and community members in all sorts of development activities including agriculture, livelihood, gender development, micro business, and health and sanitation. This article discusses how citizen engagement is undertaken in community development programs in India by NGOs and government departments, with case studies from rural, urban, and slum dwellings

5         Strengthening social capital in deprived communities: From Empty Foyer to Shared Social Space, Authors. Anna Metteri, Tuula Kostiainen, Joonas Kiviranta, Matilda Leppänen

This chapter offers a descriptive analysis of the process -- how social work competencies develop in a process of collaborative learning in an enhanced integration project in Hervanta, one of the biggest multicultural suburbs in Finland. The three-year pilot project called TEKO started in 2016 and was aimed at enhancing refugee integration into the Finnish society through community social work and two-way integration. The project established a community pop-up center Kototori, where a social worker and a social instructor worked two days a week to develop a community approach. Kototori is a result of the co-operation among partners The City of Tampere, Federation of Tampere Evangelical Lutheran Parishes, and Tampere University. Gradually, the reflective community approach was leading to the practice of mutually shared competences, changing the way professional competencies were used. This meant deconstructing power relations between individuals, community, and social workers.

6         Social work practice in places of resettlement and sustainable community development; Author: Odessa Gonzalez Benson

This chapter aims to provide a descriptive summary and conceptual analysis of social work practice conducted within refugee communities upon resettlement. Place-based social work practice within the context of the resettlement city is examined. It is at the scale of the city that is more often the site for community development with refugees, rather than the state-level as determined by federal policy. Social workers thus engage not only with refugees and their organizations, but also with other stakeholders and actors who are invested in economic and urban development at a broader sense. Also, participatory approaches as a form of practice are highlighted, considering both the promise and limits or challenges to such practice. Analyses also account for the sociopolitical and economic landscape in which social work practice with refugees emerges and evolves in the United States. Data are model programs in resettlement cities in the United States, as determined by the federal resettlement office.

7         Violence prevention and neighborhood collective efficacy in deprived communities. Author: Mary L Ohmer

Deprived communities often face high rates of community crimes and violence, which is particularly visible in slum, ghetto, and favela communities, but also in many other examples across the globe. In this chapter, the author discusses theoretically why deprived communities may face higher violence and crime rates. Furthermore, it analyzes through lenses of neighborhood collective efficacy how crime and violence can be prevented and how civic engagement and participation can be employed in dealing with substantive neighborhood problems, including community and youth violence. In particular, practice examples are provided as well as examples of intervention research results in order to make stronger argument of theoretical contribution. 

8         Community projects for socioeconomic empowerment. Authors Makhubele, JC; Mafa, P; Matlakala, FK and Mabvurira, V

The history of the rural communities of Africa is one of land dispossession, forced removals, and immiseration. Most underdeveloped areas have traditionally been supplying cheap labor to the developed areas, providing low wages and neglect of welfare and cultural support of the underdeveloped areas. Underdeveloped communities are still essentially characterized by lines of division between commercial farming and the underdeveloped and under-resourced communities. Specific focus in this chapter is on conceptualizing the theoretical framework rooted in African realities, African geo-political contexts of poverty eradication strategies, conceptualization and nexus of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, and Agenda 2063 aspirations, participatory democracy, land issue, sociocultural orientation of communities; processes and outcomes of community-based development; knowledge base (values, skills, principles, techniques, roles, and methods) that social workers engaging with undeveloped African communities should embody/possess, and challenges that arise from community engagement when working with underdeveloped communities.

9         Developing smart social services for mending the gap in development inequalities; Author: Nino Žganec

Deprived communities are underserved communities with lack of many basics services. This is s difficult task because of increased demands, lack of existing or available experts, change of priorities, lack of strategic planning, and weak intersectoral cooperation with a lack of information. Thus, local services should reach to the end user (outreach programs), experts should facilitate achieving administrative assumptions, programs should be based on already existing resources, and partnerships should be continually developed to facilitate coordination and information sharing. Many times deprived communities are remote, and there is great potential of using technology to mend the gap and make services more accessible. Due to a lack of resources, social services should be more holistic, while very specific services that require specialized skills can be provided as e-service and other alternative ways.

10         Advocacy strategies and skills for raising the issue of regional development inequalities; Author Jelena Matančević

Usually social workers empower communities within communities. But when it comes to deprived communities, social workers should also reach outside communities using advocacy strategies in order to set up the agenda on wider regional or national and even international levels. Unequal local development is the result of many local and global factors and structural barriers. In this chapter the author discusses why social work should be engaged in wider structural examples and provide examples on how finding allies in a regional network can improve political status of deprived communities that are many times stigmatized and disempowered.

Part III. Supporting Social Work Practice in Deprived Communities

11     Higher education institutions of social work as allies of the most vulnerable communities. Authors: Ana Opacic, Carmen Luca Sugawara

In this chapter the authors discuss the complex relationship that exists between higher education in social work and deprived communities. Higher education institutions are strong allies of the most vulnerable communities. Higher education institutions, sometimes before other stakeholders, recognize deprived communities and serve as social advocates on a wider level. There are at least three dimensions of relationships between higher education institutions of social work and deprived communities: a) higher education institutions with their third mission to actively promote and enhance community development projects; b) there are specific strategies for recruiting social work students from deprived communities since it is of crucial importance to have experts working in these communities; and c) innovative methods of teaching and using distant or tele-education can support social work students and professionals and decrease professional isolation.  

12     Being more than a social worker in environments with scarce human resources. Author: Glen Schmidt

In this chapter the author elaborates different challenges that social workers are facing in their practice in deprived communities. Context of their practice are remote Canadian communities, but with clear implications for similar contexts across the globe. Canadian social workers practicing in remote parts of the country face a number of challenges. Workers in the resource extraction communities have high-income levels while Indigenous communities tend to be poor, at least in the sense of disposable income. In both types of communities there is a lack of health and social service resources. For social workers this means that it is difficult to access specialist services, and social workers have to develop generalist practice skills. The physical environment plays a role in social work practice as people’s activities are shaped with weather and climate in mind. Social workers practicing in smaller isolated communities are also highly visible, and their practice comes under scrutiny in ways that their urban counterparts usually don’t experience. To be effective, social workers in remote and isolated Canadian communities need to be competent generalist practitioners capable of adapting to life in a small isolated settlement.

13     Social work in conflict with other community development oriented professions: Authors Ana Opacic and Odessa Gonzalez Benson

In this sort of conclusion chapter, authors wrap up what is specific about social work practice in deprived communities on the level of micro practice (resolving concrete issues), meso-practice (working across similar topics), macro-practice (advocating on a wider social level), and meta practice (supporting social workers themselves). However, since social workers act in transdisciplinary arenas meeting other professionals, such as urban planners, local developers, and geographers, authors try to elaborate what is shared space and what are specific values that social workers bring into practice. Concrete examples of transdisciplinary practices are displayed, such as potential innovative solutions for practice, and research and education in and about deprived communities that provide more opportunities for community development. 

Part IV: Conclusion

O autorze

Ana Opačić, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Department of Social Work within the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb in Croatia. Her field of interest includes community social work, international social work and theory of social work. As a researcher and practitioner, she is involved in local vulnerable communities in Croatia. Ana Opačić did her PhD thesis on the conceptualization of developmentally sensitive communities in Croatia, and has published numerous articles on this topic in distinguished peer-reviewed journals. Some of the subtopics include typology of underdeveloped communities, environmental justice, social capital and post-war reconstruction.

Ana Opačić was active not solely as a researcher in deprived communities in Croatia, but was also engaged in developing service-learning programs, social services, strategic planning and evaluation of development projects. Her professional as well as personal experience is deeply connected with challenges of living in deprived communities alongside all other issues that build this experience, such as war, post-socialist transition or social inequalities.  

Blurb

This contributed volume offers a holistic understanding of social work practice in deprived communities through its thematization of understanding deprived communities globally, the development of competencies for social work practice in and with deprived communities, social work education as a community development tool, and the empowerment of social workers in deprived communities. Inequality as a globally recognized challenge is extensively elaborated within the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Agenda program for social work, making this a timely and important contribution to the literature. 

Deprived communities, used in this book to mean slums, ghettos, favelas, and low-income, remote, underserved, vulnerable, impoverished, underdeveloped, or less-favoured communities, exist worldwide and are conceptualized under different terms and concepts. For that reason, social work, specifically in deprived areas, is not sufficiently recognized as a specific field of practice within community work. As a result, this volume features contributions that:

• provide a conceptual clarification of many different terms that are used for describing deprived communities and offer a systematic literature review on community processes and effects on well-being in underdeveloped communities;
• map different fields of social work involvement in deprived communities with concrete practice examples; and,
• stress why social work as a profession needs support and how it can be empowered to improve its capacities in deprived communities. 

With international authorship and perspectives on social work approaches for deprived communities from India, Sub-Saharan Africa, North and Central Europe, and North America, Practicing Social Work in Deprived Communities is an essential resource for social workers, social work educators, and community development practitioners. The text also should be of interest to students of social work, as well as other professionals and researchers working within community development and deprived communities.