Introduce the social worker's key skills in community welfare practice, focusing on resource development, and present the learner's views on what resource development is needed in their local community.
Introduction
Main Content
- Concept of Community
- Definition of Community Welfare Resource Development
- Process of Community Resource Development
- Strategies for Utilizing Resources in Community Practice
Conclusion
Introduction
In the increasingly complex and multifaceted modern society, resolving various social issues requires more than just the efforts of governments, local authorities, and public institutions. It is essential to involve volunteers and donors to reduce the social costs required to address these issues, considering the limited manpower and financial resources available. Furthermore, social workers engaged in community welfare practice must utilize resource development skills to ensure the sustainability of community welfare projects.
Resource development skills refer to the ability to secure and effectively utilize human and material resources necessary for community welfare projects. Another reason why the expertise of social workers is crucial lies in the unique nature of social welfare services. These services are delivered through interpersonal interactions between social workers and clients, individuals or families facing problems, making the quality of personnel delivering social welfare services paramount. Thus, the quality of personnel delivering social welfare services ultimately depends on the social workers themselves, highlighting the importance of human resource development. This section introduces resource development as one of the key skills of social workers and explores the types of resource development needed in the local community.
Main Content
1. Concept of Local Community
A local community refers to people living together in a specific area, forming a society centered around that area. Specifically, it can be defined as a place where residents interact socially, share common culture, and develop a sense of belonging to the community. Therefore, a local community comprises a specific area, its residents, and a sense of community consciousness.
The term "local community" is often used interchangeably with "community" or "society." Before the establishment of capitalist society, the only criterion defining the geographical boundaries of society was land ownership. However, with the advent of capitalism, the notion of community as a self-sufficient unit began to disintegrate, and regional identity rapidly diminished under the singular dominance of capital. In this context, regions became meaningful only as units of political control, and the concept of local community or society underwent significant changes.
Today, residential areas are broadly divided into forms such as nation-states or ethnic nations, and further subdivided administratively into cities, counties, and towns.
2. Definition of Community Welfare Resource Development in Local Communities
Community welfare resource development in local communities refers to the process of identifying and utilizing facilities, infrastructure, funding, manpower, programs, etc., within the community to achieve the objectives of social welfare practice. Welfare resources for the local community encompass all types of tangible and intangible services and material elements necessary to satisfy social needs and address social risks, aiming to solve social problems.
Participation of various relevant organizations within the local community and vertical and horizontal collaboration serve as important means to enhance accessibility to resources for addressing community issues. Community-based welfare provision involves mobilizing welfare resources within the local community and organizing them by combining inherent capacities to provide welfare.
The emphasis on local community resource development is attributed to global trends in decentralization, along with the decentralization of various social welfare services. The increasing population benefiting from social welfare, coupled with the difficulty for the central government to reach smaller localities and the reduction in central government support, exacerbates the dependency on local government and civil society capacity. Therefore, the importance of cooperation and resource development at the local community level is emphasized. Moreover, the increasing demand for welfare tailored to the characteristics of each region underscores the importance of community resource development in local communities.
3. Process of Community Resource Development in Local Communities
Firstly, the importance of promotion needs to be acknowledged. Promotion contributes significantly to expanding volunteer awareness and maximizing participation motivation. It converts potential volunteers into actual participants, constituting important manpower for volunteer activities. Additionally, promotion assists in developing the demand for volunteer services and prompts welfare organizations or civic groups to address blind spots within the local community, establishing the importance of volunteer organizations as significant private resources within the community and enhancing morale and sense of belonging among volunteers through performance promotion.
Prior identification of the needs of the community is essential in community resource development. A thorough understanding of community resources based on the needs of the locality enables analysis of social problems and their causes. Setting priorities for problem-solving needs and analyzing common issues to identify necessary resources within the community is crucial.
Subsequently, setting development goals and establishing plans are necessary in community resource development. The formulation of specific plans for achieving goals and the clear communication of objectives to the workforce are imperative as they facilitate easy and clear transmission of intentions to community members. Developing plans that facilitate social value and the formation of community consensus without placing a burden on the locality is essential. Emphasizing the urgency and importance of the local context can help lead to the elicitation of needs.
In resource identification within the community, it is crucial to notify residents and related institutions of the need for assistance in the community and raise awareness of the need for mobilizing private resources for community development. Differences in the situation of local resources and residents' perceptions and awareness of issues necessitate the identification of facilities, institutions, organizations, and local maintenance within the community.
Through the analysis of project objectives and situations, establishing continuous relationships with local residents and actively promoting to hospitals, religious organizations, and businesses for organic connections is necessary. Utilizing private organizations or private organizations and organizing sponsorship committees may also be necessary. Encouraging residents to recognize the importance of welfare by fostering a sense of unity, participation, and responsibility among them, persuading them to cooperate and donate voluntarily, is crucial. This is a process of convincing residents to expand sponsorship on their own.
Resource listing involves the creation of resource lists, resource development maps, etc. Identifying the characteristics of resources, approaches to resources, service standards, contact persons, etc., is essential. Specific details include organization names, basic information, service provision services, service targets, quality, qualifications, costs, responsible persons, etc. Developing lists based on the experiences and creativity of resource developers and managing them through timely updates are crucial.
During the evaluation and reporting stage of resource development activities, evaluation of objectives and goal achievement, effectiveness, and problems in the resource utilization process is necessary. Sharing the results of resource provision and its utilization within the local community is essential. Granting satisfaction and a sense of belonging to community members as part of the resource development process is crucial.
4. Utilization Strategies for Linking Community Practice with Community Resources
The various stages of community resource development are not merely linear processes. It should be viewed as a structure where each stage influences and circulates with one another, rather than a unidirectional flow. Every stage is crucial, and deficiencies in any stage should be avoided. Among them, the stage of promotion is increasingly emphasized in all areas of society in recent times, and even more so in the promotion process of community resource development.
As welfare by the community becomes increasingly important compared to national welfare, the role of local governments and community communities is considered crucial. However, in major cities, especially in Seoul, many people lack attachment to their place of residence. Due to the characteristics of Seoul, many people commute from other regions and live in Seoul not out of affection but because it's closer to work or cheaper. Therefore, the meaning of community love is difficult to expect, and many people don't even know where their local community center is. Hence, promoting the local community is considered the most important priority.
Promotion introduces the basic principles and philosophy of volunteering, evokes a sense of social responsibility and solidarity as members of society, instills a sense of civic participation, introduces areas and targets requiring volunteerism, and provides information on how to participate in programs. Government agencies, social organizations, corporations, or interest groups continue to increase their promotional activities, emphasizing the need for promotion for fundraising, service or program guidance, solicitation or development of sponsors, enhancing social interest and participation in social welfare projects, and securing capable human resources. Promoting helps people understand that helping others is helping themselves, and anyone can volunteer for the community and marginalized groups, thereby fostering a volunteer atmosphere and activating volunteer activities.
When examining the specific content of promotion, firstly, it involves promoting the basic principles and philosophy of community engagement activities to enhance the image of volunteering in the local community. This includes educating and widely disseminating the fundamental principles, philosophy, and basic knowledge of resource development to instill a sense of responsibility, solidarity, and participation consciousness as members of the local community. This promotional effort aims to publish articles and conduct interviews in the media to elucidate the definition, attitude, role, developmental history, and process of community engagement.
Secondly, promotion is aimed at expanding the support base for community resource development organizations by informing the community about the role, values, importance, and effectiveness of the programs they undertake. This type of promotion is intended to gain and maintain trust from the local community by disseminating information through promotional leaflets, newsletters, business reports, educational guides, performance reports, and evaluations.
Finally, promotion of opportunities for participation in community engagement activities involves promoting detailed introductions of demand and tasks related to resource development activities, as well as practical methods, to encourage participation from various segments of the population. This type of promotion is disseminated through mass media, the internet, exhibitions, volunteer fairs, and other channels.
Conclusion
As I wrote this report, I reflected on my local community and neighborhood. I realized that although I have seen various local government and charity organizations operating in my area, I haven't paid much attention to them. However, with the trend towards decentralization, it's time for me to take an active interest in my neighborhood as an autonomous resident.
Successful volunteer managers emphasize efficiency. They should have an active interest in the influence of volunteers, clients, the local community, and institutions, while building confidence and assertiveness. Social workers should act as managers rather than just volunteers. They need the ability to guide providers concisely and clearly, using diagnostic concepts through case studies appropriately. Developing skills in utilizing socialized power, managing group processes, and demonstrating inclusiveness, leadership, and understanding of human nature are essential. Adopting an approach that recognizes individuality and understanding people's needs is crucial.