Working with entire communities and organizations might seem overwhelming, due to the large number of people involved. Where do you begin? It might be a relief to know that the GIM is just as useful to social workers practicing at the macro level as it is for those practicing at the micro and mezzo levels. In fact, you begin the process in the same way with proper engagement and the appropriate form of assessment before enacting an intervention. Successful engagement and assessment depends on strong interpersonal skills, regardless of the level of intervention. In some respects, skills such as empathy, warmth, genuineness, and general rapport-building are the same for macro work as they are for micro and mezzo work—they just may be applied in a different way. In other respects, this level of intervention depends on additional skills not often identified as social work-related, including negotiating, mediating, assessing, and budgeting. How might you utilize these skills when engaging and assessing communities? A competent and successful social work policy practitioner is able to meld these skills. This is of particular necessity when the goal is social change.
Review this week’s Resources. Refer to the community you selected for this week’s Discussion. Then imagine that you have been assigned to complete a needs assessment and identify potential resources for this community. You elected to interview key informants as one form of assessing this community. Consider who you would contact as a key informant for this community. Finally, think about how you might engage the informant to obtain the community details to complete your needs assessment.
Your paper should include the following:
A description of the community you selected
A description of the key informants you would contact within that community
An explanation of why you would contact the key informants you selected
An explanation of the skills you might use to engage these informants to obtain the community details to complete your needs assessment and explain why you chose those skills.
Below is my post about the community I selected. Please review this and use the information when writing the paper.
I reside in a diverse community, but it is different from other places I have lived. Caucasians and African Americans are the majority of people who live in Wynne, AR. It is known as “The city with a smile.” Wynne is a very close knit, supportive community that takes football to heart. When someone asks about Wynne, most people will describe it as being clean, friendly and football crazy. The fire station keeps its doors open all day and welcomes visitors. The streets have Yellowjackets painted on them, which is the school mascot. Actually, there are Yellowjackets everywhere in Wynne. There are several businesses that have been open for years and are owned by residents in Wynne.
One of the strengths associated with my small community is the fact that less competition means more support. The saying around here is, “Shop local!” When you shop local, you support local. You don’t have to worry about brand competition like bigger cities do, and you will almost always be greeted by a smile of friendly staff. Another strength is it is easier for people to get involved. You always know who to call and where to go if you want to do something. One example of this is local league ball program. There is always a sign in front of the clean courthouse lawn that lets you know when and where sign ups will be. And, if you go somewhere, you will pass by the courthouse. It is almost impossible not to. One more thing I would like to add, you can hear the Yellowjackets fans in the fall from miles away. Everyone supports them on football Friday nights.
One of the challenges of living in Wynne, AR is there isn’t a lot of public housing. There are more single family homes than multifamily housing. This can be a challenge for individuals or families wanting to move to Wynne that don’t have a decent income. A part of being a social worker being able to provide appropriate resources. Job agencies, job fair information, etc. could be provided to people who want to live in Wynne if they are unemployed . Providing resources for the community can help lead to better things for them (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012).
As a social worker, it could be difficult to help the community view the challenge I discussed as a strength. However, Forrest City, AR is 20 miles south of Wynne. They have a lot of public housing and most of the crimes happen within the public housing complexes there. With this being said, I feel as though the crime rate is low in Wynne because there are not a lot of public housing options.
References:
Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. H., Jr. (2012). Understanding generalist practice (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rn_sHk_1Jw0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false