Chapter 6: Assessing Communities
Communities
are made up of small microsystems – without these microsystems a community
would never be able to function. Understanding these microsystems is key
if you want to understand or facilitate a change in a community. As
social workers we need to know how microsystems impact each other and how they
work together to form the community as a whole. It is best to fully
immerse yourself into a community so that you can experience the community
first-hand. This gives you a chance to experience what it is like to be a
community member in the community you are studying. You will also need to
understand the historical events and milestones of the community and you need
to keep in mind that communities are living organisms that continually change.
Chapter
6 outlines three tasks that will help social workers gather the information
needed to evaluate a community.
First,
the book says you need to focus on the people in the community; these are the
people you, as a social worker, are trying to help. You may want to ask
yourself “What population is the most oppressed?” or “Which population is most
in need?” These questions can help you identify your target population.
After identifying the target population, you then need to gather information to
determine this group’s demographics and their resources. You should also
identify their needs –how the community views those needs (are they seen as
important or unimportant) and how these needs can be addressed. A social
worker can gather this information by attending community meetings,
interviewing community members, and reviewing the data that is already
available. One thing that I think is of particular importance is that
when identifying the needs of your target population, a social worker should be
careful to talk to community members. Ask them how they view themselves
and how they see their community. That’s a piece that is often
overlooked, but that is extremely important.
Our
text states that a social worker should determine the community
characteristics. These characteristics include boundaries, strengths,
issues, social problems, and values. You’ll want to ask about the size of
the area included (a neighborhood, a city block, or a larger piece of a
community). Social workers also need to be sure to ask about the
community’s strengths, issues, values, traditions, and social problems. It’s
also important to figure out where the discrimination and oppression are taking
place.
Finally,
as a social worker you need to identify the community stakeholders. This means
figuring out who runs the community, who controls the money and other
resources, and how easy it is for community members to access those resources.
You’ll also want to know what type of resources are available – this means
things like schooling, TANF, and other funding sources.
Our
job as social workers is to fit these three pieces of the puzzle together so
that we can understand how a community’s various microsystems work together
within a community.
Great synopsis of the chapters. I also think that community empowerment should be apart of the tasks. Community empowerment, is the ability for the community residents to sustain its improvements. Once the community is taught how to go about getting things done properly by filing the correct documents through city hall, getting more community involvement from community organizations and agencies, and establishing a since of pride within the community. The community is more likely to stay a float rather than the improvements being not maintained.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the outline, Jen. I appreciated how the chapter outlined key tasks that break down how to look at a larger picture by focusing on smaller microsystems. Focusing on the smaller areas that function within a community help to build a more detailed account of needs and assets available. Also, by breaking it down into sections, it is not nearly as overwhelming as looking at the community with one giant lens. This chapter makes me think of putting a puzzle together by sections instead of doing the whole thing at once. It is very reminiscent of our community profile report and explains why it is so important to take all these parts into account.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the outline, Jen. I appreciated how the chapter outlined key tasks that break down how to look at a larger picture by focusing on smaller microsystems. Focusing on the smaller areas that function within a community help to build a more detailed account of needs and assets available. Also, by breaking it down into sections, it is not nearly as overwhelming as looking at the community with one giant lens. This chapter makes me think of putting a puzzle together by sections instead of doing the whole thing at once. It is very reminiscent of our community profile report and explains why it is so important to take all these parts into account.
ReplyDeleteJen- great summary of the reading. I look forward to talking to those in the Lemay community to figure out what they identify as their needs. I have identified some in my profile report, but am curious to see if they will have completely different needs.
ReplyDeleteJen, thanks for your concise, accurate summary of key points made in this chapter. I think the most important mindset we can have when entering a community is that of a learner. It is important to put aside one’s preconceptions or assumptions and to simply listen. Observe. Ask insightful questions. Learn. I appreciate your point at the end about knowing who controls money and resources. If community members can identify that individual or group, they will be able to (hopefully) communicate where the most need is and distribute the resources in that direction.
ReplyDeleteThanks for summarizing this chapter. I'm intrigued by the aspect of what the book terms the "Political Community" and how it can be better utilised to help the target population. Many times politicians pay lip service to the needs of vulnerable populations but end up doing little. Sometimes they are rather antagonistic towards them (look how some pols are treating the work of Larry Rice). Perhaps they assume Mr. Rice is guilty of overinclusion.
ReplyDeleteThe textbook does a really good job of connecting the previous chapters and building on the previous lessons. I think Jen makes an important point when she notes that one of the pieces of data collection that is often overlooked is for social workers to ask community members how they view themselves and how they see their community in order to uncover the needs of the target population in addition to attending community meetings, interviewing community members, and reviewing the data that is already available. Many times as outsiders we think that we can clearly see what the needs of the community are because there may be a blatant and obvious problem, like in the case of Ferguson the systematic racism is a huge problem that we all can see; however, after speaking to some of the community members, one of the issues that is more important to them at this time are things like community funding for youth programs.
ReplyDeleteJen, thank you for the thoughtful outline of the chapter. I agree with the above statement Karla made in regards to research and its importance. Taking an extensive look at the data provided through different sources has really helped with our own research with our assigned communities. Without this data change is difficult to ensue. With hard facts, such as statistics, one can better present accurate information to community members to aid in guiding knowledge based decisions. I also conquer with what Trisha states in her above statement in regards to entering a community as an outsider observing rather being obtrusive. By really focusing on the community members needs and wants along with gaining their trust social workers are better able to asses the
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this first hand within my assigned community of University City. While the statistics show University City as a diverse community (almost 50% Afican American and %50 Caucasion) as an outsider there appears to be a sense of segregation by the division of Olive Boulevard, otherwise known as the great "Olive Divide." We have talked in class about the great "Olive divide" and how the community appears to be segregated by socioeconomic status and Caucasian/African Americans by the street Olive. After conducting my interview with a resident of the higher SES population within University City I learned the community itself does not view themselves in this matter and in fact views themselves as extremely diverse. In talking with my other group members who interviewed residents within the lower SES areas of University City they also stated their interviewees stated the same. This is an example of how utilzign research and really taking the time to enter a community as an outsider can work together to create change.
I like the fact that I am able to dissect a community just by getting the information from this chapter. Also, it is important to know the history of the problems that are happening in a community.
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