! SOCIAL WORK !
That’s right! Barack Obama was a Community Organizer a profession often held by social workers. Not sure what Community Organizing is, check out the following information from NASW. Who knows maybe you will be president someday!
It has taken a while, but the newspaper finally runs an article on how few loans city banks are making in some neighborhoods. Residents have suspected something was amiss; houses aren’t selling, and families with good credit have been turned down for home improvement loans. A social worker at the neighborhood assistance organization calls a meeting of residents to address the issue.
With the social worker’s assistance, residents organize for action. They alert other community organizations to build support. They survey the neighborhood. The results showed that one in five residents have applied for a loan and nearly three-quarters had been turned down. The social worker and community leaders meet with the newspaper’s editorial board. They present the survey and tell about attempts to sell homes.
The article and a subsequent editorial prompt local television reporters to pick up the story. Publicity convinces the banks that goodwill and good business require change. The social worker and resident leaders meet with banking officers to generate new policies that will enable residents to get loans, keeping the neighborhood from falling into disrepair and helping it thrive.
Helping people help themselves is a fundamental doctrine of social work. Community organizing goes a step further—helping people help themselves collectively. lt is collective problem-solving by a group working on behalf of themselves and their community.
A social worker in community organizing usually works with an existing organization to tackle issues that concern people in a building, neighborhood, workplace, or community. Community organizers coordinate and facilitate activities to improve social conditions enhance the quality of life, and bring people into the political process.
Some work directly with communities. They may help stop a toxic waste incinerator, initiate an alternative school, develop a neighborhood housing plan, get drug dealers of l the block, develop senior citizen programs, or organize stockholders to promote corporate responsibility. Others work for advocacy or social change organizations to improve conditions for specific groups (such as homeless people, immigrants, or refugees) or tackle issues such as welfare reform or violence prevention.
Many social workers in this field go on to lead policy or advocacy organizations. Others become elected or appointed public officials.
Social workers who choose community organizing can have a tremendous impact on the nation’s communities and on social reform.
Related Areas
- Community development
- Social planning
- Program development
- Community education
- Grassroots organizing
- Consumer advocacy
- Voter registration
- Economic development
- Politics
- Group work
- Neighborhood organizing
Employers
- Advocacy organizations
- Development corporations
- Community action agencies
- Neighborhood and community centers
- Local, state, and federal governments
- Settlement houses
- Associations
For more information on other Social Work Professions check out this link: http://www.naswdc.org/pubs/choices/choices.htm
