Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Aid-Based vs. Community-Based Approaches
Aid-Based
Approaches vs. Community-Based
Approaches
Aid-based approaches to activism send the message -
I WILL “FIX” YOU
Some inherent assumptions that underlie aid-based approaches are:
v Something is better than nothing
v “We” know what’s best for “them”
v “They” are not capable - “they” have no voice - "we" must speak for "them"
Community-based
approaches to activism send the message -
LET US WORK TOGETHER
Some inherent assumptions that underlie
community-based approaches are:
v People of the community
involved are the true experts
v People of the community
are capable of solving problems
v Oppression and
discrimination are recognized as key contributors to the problem
The Invisible Children organization created a video to play on peoples emotions and get them to donate. They used outdated and inaccurate information, as told by many of the African people who responded in outrage when this video went viral. There is a focus on the advocates and the organization and how they need to intervene to help the people of Africa, as if the people of Africa have no opinions or have not tried anything to solve this problem.
This is an example of community-based efforts. Only the people of the community, living through this experience, perceiving the issues through their own cultural lense can really determine what is needed and the best way to make changes. This is an example of women coming together and saying that they will not accept the rape and terrorization of their community.
What message do you want to send ?
American social welfare policies have an impact on how we perceive human rights issues. There is a direct relationship because how we feel about people impacts how we decide to offer assistance; our approach to solving the problem. In the U.S. our welfare policies are more residual in nature.....and this impacts human rights rhetoric.
Residual concepts of social welfare are temporary, only available after a need becomes severe, and are often stigmatizing. They are often seen as "charity" or a "handout" rather than basic human needs and rights shared and deserved to every person on this earth, just because he or she is a HUMAN BEING!
Residual approaches are dis-empowering; the rhetoric is needs based rather than rights based. This creates an "us" versus "them" mentality, reinforcing inequality. It allows people to create some distance between themselves and the issue, for example.....human rights are only a concern for the disadvantaged; refugees; people with disabilities; ethnic minorities; etc.
Institutional concepts of social welfare believe in the idea of interdependence. We are all dependent on each other and have a responsibility to making sure basic needs and human rights are shared and honored equally. Human rights are centrally important.
The issue of human rights is not about "her rights", "their rights", "my rights".....it is about "OUR RIGHTS"
When advocacy actually does more harm that good it can be called:
BADVOCACY!
-the issues are oversimplified...sometimes turned into a slogan and sold on T-shirts and bracelets
-there is a great deal of ethnocentrism and not enough cultural competency
-things are sensationalized...with focus on high profile advocates, celebrities, campaigns, etc. rather than the real lived experiences of those impacted most
-the need to "do something" is the driving force rather than understanding the issue and trying to change things on a larger more meaningful scale
-there is continued oppression and discrimination inherent in the "aid"
An example of BADVOCACY can be seen in the case of Invisible Children and KONY 2012. Invisible Children made a video compelling US Citizens to donate money towards the capture of Joseph Kony. Kony is responsible for unspeakable crimes against the people of Africa, involving kidnapping children during the night, torturing and mutilating them, and ultimately turning them into weapons against their own people.
The Invisible Children organization created a video to play on peoples emotions and get them to donate. They used outdated and inaccurate information, as told by many of the African people who responded in outrage when this video went viral. There is a focus on the advocates and the organization and how they need to intervene to help the people of Africa, as if the people of Africa have no opinions or have not tried anything to solve this problem.
The issue was simplified into finding this one target; Joseph Kony. There is no mention of what the people of Africa would like to happen, what they have already done, and/or how they think things should be managed. This is not a culturally competent way of addressing an issue of human rights; perpetuating stereotypical, patronizing, ethnocentric behavior. The people of Africa are not "invisible" or "voiceless" people. For more information click on this link http://www.kony2012.com/.
This to me looks like a movie trailer...making the issue theatrical and sensational..rather than serious and very real for those impacted...
An example of community-based advocacy can be seen in the documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell".
This is an example of community-based efforts. Only the people of the community, living through this experience, perceiving the issues through their own cultural lense can really determine what is needed and the best way to make changes. This is an example of women coming together and saying that they will not accept the rape and terrorization of their community.
The changes that came about through diligence, commitment, and mutual support carry great meaning and weight. This was a bottom-up approach to creating change. This is women uniting and using their voices to fight an imbalance of power, discrimination, and oppression.
A perfect example that speaks to the issue of cultural competence is when one of the activists participating in the sit-in threatened to disrobe causing a shift in the balance of power between men and women. I learned that a woman mother figure, disrobing in public like that, is an ultimate act of disrespect and dishonor and made the male politicians take a long hard look at how serious these female activists were about their demands. This was a solution or tactic I would never have imagined, coming from a different culture.
For more information click the following link http://praythedevilbacktohell.com/
Application to Social Work Practice
As a social worker I am
responsible for honoring and adhering to the Social Work Code of Ethics and the
core values found there in. These core values are apparent in community based
advocacy.
Community based advocacy is service to others that is above self-interest. It is not about
unloading unwanted clothing or food products that are not needed. It is about
providing needed services. You learn what services are needed by listening to the people who are most involved and affected by the circumstances.
Social workers fight for social justice, which means access to information, services, and
resources. Social justice includes “meaningful participation” in decision
making for all people. Community based advocacy seeks to understand the
dynamics of oppression and the imbalance of power within a community.
Social workers respect individual, cultural, and
ethnic differences. We believe that all people are capable of creating change
and addressing their own needs. Community based advocacy promotes the dignity and worth of the person through recognizing the strength found in the
community and helping people do more of what is working for them.
Social workers recognize the importance of human relationships. Community based advocacy is
about building partnerships in the helping process.
Social workers seek to build trusting relationships.
We have a responsibility to those people whom we ask to trust us and allow us
into their private lives. We practice with integrity.
In community based advocacy we do this through being up front and honest. We
must be transparent in our intentions and we must recognize the privilege in
being invited into these partnerships.
Social workers make a commitment to life-long
learning. We practice with competence.
We balance evidence based research with professional wisdom. In community based
advocacy we share this knowledge and seek to learn from communities and add to
it. It is a reciprocal relationship.
In my practice as a social worker I will listen carefully to the needs and solutions identified by those that I work with. I will pay close attention to the meanings associated with these needs and solutions and always try to empower people by emphasizing their strength and resiliency.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
SCWK 432: Community Intervention Log
Name Christie Rexford
Date
|
Time
|
Activity
|
1/31
|
8am (class)
|
Suggested two contacts at shelters I have worked in
Agreed to research TBTN foundation logo use policies
|
1/31
|
5pm
|
Researched TBTN logo information and posted link to Facebook
|
2/6
|
1pm
|
Spoke with shelter director at Father Bill’s and Mainspring House to talk about the events
|
2/8
|
Posted email letter suggestion to Facebook
| |
2/8
|
Volunteered for leadership role
| |
2/8
|
Voted on name for our event
| |
2/15
|
7pm
|
Compiled all promotional ideas from Blackboard into one comprehensive list to use at our leadership meeting and made copies for everyone
|
2/16
|
4:30
|
Leadership Meeting
|
2/16
|
5:30
|
Signed up for Outreach Group
|
2/21
|
12pm
|
Spoke with Audrey about her ideas to use some merchandise from an “oriental trading” magazine for promotions and then connected her with Brooke since she is in the promotion group
|
2/23
|
10am
|
Called and emailed BSU radio station
|
2/24
|
1pm
|
Called and emailed BSU radio station again
|
2/27
|
11am
|
Emailed BSU radio station again and cc’d their program director
|
2/27
|
9:30
|
Spoke with field placement staff about our events during staff meeting
|
2/28
|
8am (class)
|
Volunteered to contact local newspapers to add events to community calendar of events to run one week prior to events and during events
|
3/5
|
Sent field supervisors contact information to Brooke
| |
3/12
|
Contacted Scott for a copy of the email letter
| |
3/13
|
Researched information about newspaper ads
| |
3/14
|
Shared Facebook event on my Facebook page and invited friends
| |
3/14
|
Offered assistance with hanging up flyers in response to Madonna’s email
|
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Holding Ground
The
documentary “Holding Ground” is about an organization called the Dudley Street
Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI). In 1985, The Riley Foundation, working with
several other community building agencies, held a meeting at St. Patrick’s
Church to discuss initiatives to rebuild the communities of Roxbury and Dorchester
Massachusetts. These communities had been targeted as Boston’s poorest and most
needy areas. This meeting was advertised in The Boston Globe and many concerned
residents, determined to be a part of community change, attended. One resident,
Che Madyun, asked a simple question; how many of you are residents of this
community? At this point the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) underwent
a huge transformation so that community needs could be determined by people in
the community rather than people coming from “somewhere else”.
Homan, in "Promoting Community Change" writes that community change efforts should include the cultural perspectives, experiences, values, norms, and rituals of the people affected by the change. (Homan, p.50) In following this idea, the
majority of the board of directors of the DSNI would be residents of the
community, to be elected every two years. Each ethnic group would be
represented by holding 3 seats each and the remaining members would be from
local businesses, housing and human service agencies, and religious
institutions. A director was hired and a community needs assessment began, with
“knocking on doors” to complete neighborhood surveys. One of the most
widespread concerns identified was the issue of vacant lots full of trash, broken down
cars, and old appliances.
Don’t Dump On Us
In 1986, the first campaign that DSNI tackled was born; “Don’t Dump On Us”. Residents
rallied, sending out radio messages encouraging people to contact city hall and
other state agencies to demand the clean-up of the city. Over 100 members of
the community gathered at St. Patrick’s Church to demand action. Mayor Ray Flynn, recognizing an opportunity to
gain support from people of color, responded swiftly by providing public funds
to support the clean-up. However, a year
later DSNI, unhappy with Flynn’s broken promises to clean up illegal trash
transfer stations, rallied again with the threat of transferring this trash to
the steps of city hall. This forced the Mayor to take action and he did so by
padlocking the illegal dump site. This was a “symbol of hope” for DSNI.
The Dudley Triangle
In
1988, in another significant victory for DSNI, the organization was granted
eminent domain power. This would provide 50 acres of private vacant land, owned
by 130 different people, in the area identified as the “Dudley Triangle”. This
was the DSNI’s target area. This project included over 200 people and included
the goals of creating jobs, local businesses, affordable housing, educational
and human services. Plans would also include two community centers to create safe spaces for youth. DSNI would not rely on outside planners to come in and
dictate, in a top-down approach but rather utilize a bottom-up approach with
major solutions and decisions coming from members of the community. This
project was funded with 134 million dollars of public funds. 
Take Back the Park
In1991,
DSNI in collaboration with police and the local youth center, organized a summer
program to take back the park. The park had become overrun with drug dealing
and violence. Summer programming was created to provide youth with a safe place
for sports and recreation. While DSNI recognize that this did not address the
bigger picture of drug dealing and violence it was a short term step toward
providing a safer community for youth. In 1993, DSNI reached out in the
community again in an effort to address drugs and violence. The focus was on “working
together” with those in the community struggling with these issues.
Empowerment
Finally, one of the greatest
aspects of this organization is the empowerment that comes along with activism.
I was impressed by the formation of a youth organization and how the ones who
were small children in the beginning stages of the DSNI felt they had a “voice”
and knew how to use it! I was really moved by that. I was also moved by the way
they set out to address drugs and violence in their community.
The empowerment of the
disenfranchised community members involved them looking the “opressors” straight in
the face and confronting them-the banks, the businesses, and the politicians,
etc. I think it’s such an important piece of this puzzle and how it all came
together. They did not deserve to be living in this type of environment.
Unity Through Diversity Mural
This is a mural painted on Dudley Street. This mural represents various people in the community and has become a neighborhood icon.
References
http://www.dsni.org/
Change Agents
Helen
Keller was born a healthy infant, but an early childhood illness left her blind
and deaf. Her story of overcoming these barriers to communication and learning
to read, write, and speak is well known. She was like a celebrity in her time
period. Laura Hershey was born with muscular dystrophy, a disease that weakens
the muscles. She spent her life in a wheel chair. When Laura was a child she was the poster
child for the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, which raises money for muscular
dystrophy. Both Helen and Laura, well known for their physical limitations,
fought for social justice and for people with disabilities to be recognized for
their individual strengths, abilities, and contributions.
Helen Keller
Helen
Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She was a healthy
child until about 18 months old when she suffered an illness that left her deaf
and blind. Helen spent the next 5 years of her life struggling to make sense of
the world with no real way to communicate. Her parents thought they were going
to have to put her in an institution as was the typical scenario during this
time period. Fortunately for Helen, her parents were referred to Alexander
Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, who was working with deaf children
at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts. It is through this connection that Helen was
introduced to Anne Sullivan. Anne Sullivan became Helen’s teacher and lifelong
companion. Helen, who was an intelligent and committed learner, was able to
learn how to communicate through touch lip reading, Braille, speech, typing,
and finger spelling.
Education
Helen’s
progress was framed as a miracle and talked about throughout New England. The
Perkins Institute for the Blind was made famous and Helen was asked to tell her
story time and time again. Helen’s thirst for knowledge brought her through
schooling at Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston, Wright-Humason School
for the Deaf in New York City, and prep school at Cambridge School for Young
Ladies where she prepared for entrance into Radcliffe College. She graduated
Radcliffe in 1904 at the age of 24 years old. This was a time when few women
were getting a college education, never mind a woman who was both deaf and
blind.
Activism and Accomplishments
Helen
Keller became an activist for social justice. She fought to pass legislation
establishing minimum wage, maximum work hours, limits on child labor, and
worker safety codes. She joined the Socialist Party in 1909 to advocate for the
eradication of growing economic inequalities and the unregulated nature of U.S.
capitalism. Helen was involved with
social and political issues such as women’s suffrage, pacifism, and birth
control. She testified before U.S. Congress to bring attention to the welfare
of the blind. In 1915, she co-founded Helen Keller International to raise
awareness of the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition. In 1920
Helen was one of the founding members of the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU). In 1924 she became a member of the American Federation for the Blind,
helping to raise awareness and funds to support blind people. In 1946, Helen
was named Counselor of International Relations for the American Foundation of Overseas
Blind, and from 1946 to 1957 Helen traveled to 35 countries to advocate for
better treatment and welfare of their blind citizens.
Helen
was awarded the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal (1936), the
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964), and nominated into the Women’s Hall of
Fame (1965). Eleanor Roosevelt referred
to Helen as the “Good Will Ambassador to the World”. Helen passed away in 1968,
at 88 years old. The “miracle” that happened to Helen when she learned to
communicate despite being deaf and blind is what made her famous, catching the
attention of the elite, however Helen used her position to try and make the
world a better, more socially just place for everyone and that is what she
should be known for. Helen spent her life fighting for social justice.
Laura Hershey
Laura
Hershey was born on August 11, 1962 in Colorado. She was born with muscular
dystrophy, causing her to spend her life in a wheel chair. At the age of 11
years old Laura was the poster child for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy
Telethon which raises funds to help find a cure for this disease. Laura later
describes this as playing the act of a “cheerful victim”. This experience
turned her into a “mini-celebrity” for a couple of years. This experience would
later lead her to protest the telethon and everything that it stands for.
Education
Laura’s
love of writing began with poetry as early as grade school. The process of
becoming an activist started in high school and continued on through college. Laura
earned her BA in History at Colorado College in 1983, where she earned a Watson
Fellowship. This gave her the opportunity to travel, research and write about
England’s disability rights movement. Laura was a prolific writer including poetry,
books, and magazine articles. In 1985,
she attended the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum on Women in Nairobi,
Kenya as an advocate for disabled women’s issues. Laura was completely blown
away and upon return home she began writing activist poetry. Laura went on to
earn her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles in 2008.
Activism and Accomplishments
Laura
is most well known for protesting the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon,
beginning in Sept 1991. The protests would become an annual tradition. Laura
spoke out against the telethon because it case people with disabilities into a
subservient “poor victim” role in society and perpetuated the paternalistic
attitudes of society. Basically, this telethon was a money making event and the
money went to research for a cure, not the practical everyday things that a
person with disabilities needs to lead a healthy productive life and reach
their personal, professional, and social goals. The telethon portrayed people
with disabilities as helpless and pathetic. She called attention to the
difference between cures versus accommodation and charity versus civil rights.
She advocated for self determination, self expression and accommodations. In
addition for fighting for the human and civil rights of people with
disabilities, Laura sought increased visibility for people with disabilities in
the LGBTQ community. She also advocated for improvements to Medicaid’s home and
community based services.
Laura
was involved with several human rights organizations such as ADAPT, Not DeadYet, and Colorado Cross Disability Coalition. She wrote blogs for the Christopherand Dana Reeve Foundation. Laura was awarded the President’s Award from the President’s
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities in 1998 and the “Extraordinary
Woman” Award from the Colorado Domestic Violence Initiative in 1999. In 2010
she received the Lambda Poetry Fellowship. Laura has dozens of published works
in books, poetry, magazines, newspapers and other media.
Laura
passed away on November 26, 2010 at the age of 48 years old. She is survived by
her partner of more than 20 years, Robin Stephens and their 14 year old
daughter. Laura compelled people to look at more than her physical
disability-more than her wheelchair. She pushed to change the attitudes of our
society by protesting the image of a poor, helpless, pitiable disabled person,
so often used to compel the public to give money for a cure. She said that
people want a cure so they don’t have to feel so bad when they look at someone with
disabilities-they want the problem to go away, but instead we should look at
the practical daily needs and desires of people. Laura spent her life fighting
for social justice. For more information on Laura Hershey visit her site at www.LauraHershey.com.
Conclusion
Helen
Keller and Laura Hershey were both amazing women who inspire me. Both faced
barriers to leading a healthy productive life because of their disabilities but
they overcame them and showed the world that they had a lot to offer. They used
the position they were thrust into to benefit the world and fight for social
justice. What I take away from this is that you have to look at the strengths
and capabilities of each individual because no matter how big or how small, how
“able” or “disabled”, each person has a contribution to make. As a social
worker this is what I aim to do with each person that crosses my path in both
my personal and professional life- draw out their strengths. I hope to help
people see that strong, capable, individual inside them and go after what they
want for their life. This is the type of stuff that good leaders are made of.
References
Helen Keller. (2012). Biography.com.
Retrieved 05:23, Mar 11, 2012 from
http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967
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