What is community work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

What is community work - Essay Example In community work a set of values are used along with related techniques, skills and approaches. The values are to do with justice, democracy, respect, love, empowering, and â€Å"getting a better deal† for people who are in some way disadvantaged. The techniques include establishing relationships with such people, understanding how they see the world, finding ways to assist them to help themselves, and taking action to help them (Twelvetrees, 2001: 9). The term â€Å"community development† which is often synonymous with â€Å"community work† was adopted by many U.K. workers for projects that focused on local neighbourhood groups to set and meet their own needs, according to Smith (2006: infed web site). Community workers may be politically motivated from a socialist or feminist analysis of society, as in Britain during the 1970s and 1980s. On the other hand they may have simpler values such as concern about making the existing system work better for the poor, or intention to do some good in the world, states Twelvetrees (2001: 9). State-sponsored community work remains as a combination of care, economic development and service delivery improvement work, that developed during the 1980s and 1990s. Concern to cultivate community participation and local group life in England and Wales were translated into action by churches and religious groups (Smith, 2006: infed). Whatever their values, goals and existing skills, community workers must be prepared to learn new approaches, and utilize them in different circumstances to make community work more strategic, long-term and integral to the organizations that deliver it (Twelvetrees, 2001: 10-11). In the practice of community work, certain models are put to use, for achieving sustainable outcomes. Examples are: community action, community care, community development, community planning,