First and last and always: streetwork as a methodology for radical community social work practice
| Autor: | Darren Hill, EA Laredo |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Sociology and Political Science
Social work Poverty business.industry Youth work media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Public relations 0506 political science Social support Work (electrical) Statutory law 050602 political science & public administration 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Social exclusion Sociology business Welfare 050104 developmental & child psychology media_common |
| Zdroj: | Critical and Radical Social Work. 7:25-39 |
| ISSN: | 2049-8675 2049-8608 |
| DOI: | 10.1332/204986019x15491042559682 |
| Popis: | This conceptual article aims to introduce and explore the practice of social streetwork. Streetwork is located as a historical professional discourse that has contemporary relevance for a rapidly changing and globalised world. As a practice discourse, streetwork occurs across a range of community-based helping professions, including social work, youth work and community work. The social work profession is increasingly becoming clinical and situated within statutory organisations, placing a greater emphasis on outcome-based targets, rather than building relationships. As a result of austerity, traditional youth workers are becoming invisible, often moving into statutory education settings and complex needs welfare agencies. This article will argue that for the broad helping professions to remain relevant, we must engage with vulnerable and complex populations where we find them – at the street level – promoting a direct practice of social justice at a micro-level. Within this discussion, we will define and explore a streetwork approach by examining the methodologies and objectives of streetwork practice. We will argue that by keeping to its origins of using informal and non-formal education as its primary tools, streetwork as an intervention works to combat poverty, social exclusion and discrimination. The article articulates a foundation for practice based on the promotion of low-threshold interventions with complex and hard-to-reach social populations. One of the key themes we will explore is how to locate streetwork practice as a form of social support, accompaniment and tool for promoting social inclusion and social democracy. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|