NAME: SABA KAKAR
ROLL NUMBER: 48
DEPARTMENT: SOCIOLOGY
Community worker:
INTRODUCTION
Community has been a central focus of social work practice since its
inception.
Communities are one of the many social systems that touch peoples’ lives
and shape their individual and group identities. People are born in social
contexts, they grow, mature and learn about and form perceptions of social
structures.
They also develop individual and group identities through associations that
connect them to life-long community experiences.
Community provides the context and setting for social work at all levels of
intervention. For social workers engaged in direct practice at the micro level
there is need to understand the macro environment in which their client
groups live and work, how the resources are made available to them and
how community dynamics affect individual behavior. For macro level social
workers whose practice is focused on programme planning and
administration, Community is central to their work. It is also the target or
vehicle for change where interventions are designed to address broader
social problems that affect a large group of people.
OBJECTIVES:
This unit will help you to understand the concept of community. Communities
exist everywhere. It is important for social workers to understand
communities as they are the background against which social work practice
takes place.
OU
Secondly this unit focuses attention on community work and its various
dimensions. Thus by the study of this unit you will be able to
• understand the nature of communities;
• able to define communities both from social work and sociological
PEOPLE’S
Perspectives; and
• understand the meaning, origins and scope of community work.
DEFINITIONS
Community is a set of descriptions of what is implied. It is essentially a
subjective experience which defies objective definition. It is felt and
experienced rather than measured and defined. People experience
communities differently Boundaries of a community may be physical or
tangible, as they configure on a map or as an administrative area. However,
some boundaries may be symbolic, in that they may exist in the minds of the
beholders, and therefore people feel a
“sense of belonging” to the community.
The definition of community is linked to its construct. It is useful to look at it
from a historical perspectie as well as from the geographical and ideological
backgrounds in which it evolved.
Maciver and Page state that “a community is wherever the members of any
group, small or large, live together in such a way that they share, not this or
that particular interest, but the basic condition of common life, we call such a
group a community”
Robert Bellah defines community as “a group of people who are socially
interdependent, who participate together in discussion and decision making,
and who share certain practices that both define the community and are
nurtured by it.”
According to Foundation for Community Encouragement “A community is a
group of two or more people who have been able to accept and transcend
their differences regardless of the diversity of their backgrounds (social,
spiritual, educational, ethnic, economic, political, etc.). This enables them to
communicate effectively and openly and to work together toward goals
identified as being for their common good.”
Examples of Community Worker in a sentence
It includes taking responsibility for initiating and completing tasks and
procedures as well as exercising autonomy and judgement within limited
parameters Professionally qualified Youth and Community Worker Range This
range provides the salary grades for professionally qualified youth and
community workers who carry responsibility for the delivery, design, and
development of youth work.
Case Managers will perform the following activities, including but not limited
to: - Complete all County-provided training related to DR, as determined by
the County, such as the Community Worker curriculum, DR process, FAST,
CARE, MDT and Mandated Reporter Training (MRT).
When a Tenant and Community Worker is required to attend a scheduled
community meeting, the hours may be scheduled between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Path One – Contractor’s Intake Worker shall meet with County Community
Worker (CCW) through a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) process, to jointly
identify families to be served.
Related to Community Worker Community health worker
an individual who: Community services means any type of counseling and
advice, emergency assistance, medical care, Community basin means an
infiltration system, sand filter designed to infiltrate, standard constructed
wetland, or wet pond, established in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:8-4.2(c)14,
that is designed and constructed in accordance with the New Jersey
Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual, or an alternate design,
approved in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:8-5.2(g), for an infiltration system,
sand filter designed to infiltrate, standard constructed wetland, or wet pond
and that complies with the requirements of this chapter. Community water
system means a public water system which serves at least 15 service
connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25
year-round residents.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMMUNITY:
.Community can be seen to have the following characteristics:
1) Human Scale: Communities have individuals engaging in face-to-face
interactions. They are in that sense primary groups who are in direct
contact with one another. People know each other and in this sense are
in control of the range of interactions they are engaged in.
Social structures are
Sufficiently small and people are able to own and control them.
2) Identity and Belonging: There is feeling of belonging and acceptance of
each other as well as security Thus one feels a part of the community or a
member of a community. Membership involves acceptance by others,
allegiance or loyalty to the aims of the group concerned. This sense of
belonging is significant and positively regarded. Community can become the
person’s self concept. Identity also plays a role in the person not only feeling
a sense of belongingness to one community but a sense of difference from
the other groups. Institutions within community and shared practices also a
play a role in identity formation and foster a sense of belonging. It also
means that people can face a change in the sense of belonging to changing
institutions. These can be seen to erode the togetherness within a
community.
3)Obligations: The belongingness carries with it certain sense of rights and
responsibilities. There is a mutuality of trust and reciprocity involved firstly in
maintaining community life in terms of participating in the collective
activities of community, sharing and interacting with others.
Participating in community events with adherence to customs and traditions
are ordained by collective will of the members
Gemeinschaft: This implies that the people have a wide variety of roles in
which they interact with each other. These interactions are not contractual
but are obligatory. These are important for self-enhancement of individuals
as well as for fostering the use of a range of talents and abilities for the
benefit of others and the community as a whole.
Conclusion:
“I volunteer in our community not because it looks good on an application of
because of the praise received, but because it is easy to forget about our
fellow man. Though a few hours donated may seem like a lot, for another
person or organization my time is essential. True aid comes not from a forced
government program, but from ordinary people, crafting a better future for
someone or something in need. I must not lose my
Sense of humanity lest I become as poor in charity and compassion as those
I help are poor with food or clothing. With each act of kindness and help, we
as a community step towards a brighter future for all.” Mitchell Frizell, senior
at Kennett High School (18)
Locality-based community centers continue to serve as one of the most
effective institutional resources for promoting broad-based social, political,
and economic development. Community centers have been shown to be
particularly effective in reaching the poor and other historically
disadvantaged population groups including women and children, the aged,
chronically ill persons, and those without permanent homes.
Community centers also are recognized to be highly effective organizations
for assisting groups of disenfranchised persons to engage in collective action
directed at eliminating the sources of their deprivation. Indeed, recent
declarations and resolutions by the United Nations and other international
development assistance organizations emphasize the contribution of
community centers in reducing poverty, promoting popular participation, and
in advancing fuller social justice. Community centers also are highly efficient
organizations for delivering critically needed services to population groups
that are underserved by traditional agencies and organizations. These
centers have been especially effective in providing comprehensive health,
education, and other human services to groups of widely scattered persons
and to those living in urban slums and other impoverished areas.
Most centers combine service with some measure of professional education
and research and, thereby, contribute to the preparation of the next
generation of service providers for careers in serving people in their locales.