Working with Community Groups

Using Community Development as a Method of Social Work ILS 198

George W Goetschius

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780415177306
• eBook ISBN: 9781136264481
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

A report of the development of a service to housing estate community groups by the London Council of Social Service, based on 15 years of field work experience using the community development approach and method.

First Published in 1969. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

1 The Necessary Information

Chapter One is an outline of the information necessary as a basis for the discussion that follows. It will give the relevant facts about the groups, about the service and its development, and the definitions of 'community', 'community group' and 'community development or field-work process' that will be used in the rest of the report. It will also say something about the intention of the London Council of Social Service in carrying out the enquiry into the work of the Community Development Department and in publishing it.

The Groups

The groups which we describe are organisations calling themselves 'Tenants' Associations', 'Social Clubs' and occasionally using the term 'Community Association'. They have come into existence in both London Borough and G.L.C. housing developments and in both pre-war and post-war flats. The work of the Department is a response to the needs and problems of these housing estate community groups so that something must be said at the outset about the latter's characteristics, structure and work, as a background for the discussion to follow.

Characteristics

The members of the groups are residents on the estates. The groups are autonomous, plan their own programmes and manage their own financial affairs. In short, they make their own policy, They are democratically organised and administered and entirely staffed by volunteers. Committee members and officers, programme and activity leaders are ali unpaid workers who reside on the estate.

Work

The work of the groups is of three kinds. They provide a direct recreation and social welfare service to their members, including activities for children, youth work, services for the elderly and adult social events. Secondly, the groups represent the membership and the estate in discussion with statutory and voluntary bodies and in particular with the housing management department. Thirdly, their work involves the development of social life on the estates through the interaction between individuals, families and groups which is occasioned by the coming together of neighbours to participate in and provide these services. Many associations have their own club-room to manage.

Resources

There are several factors which are favourable to the formation of a group and to its continuing role in the social life of the estate. These can all be regarded as part of the resources of the group.

Many residents of new estates want to know one another. All are anxious to have adequate social amenities and services. There are residents capable of taking various leadership roles. They are able to raise enough money from their members by subscription and fund raising activities to support their own organisation. They are assisted by the provision of a club-room and other physical facilities and equipment. While they sometimes become more cohesive when they are not well accepted or helped by authorities, it is equally true that they are encouraged by the acceptance and recognition of their work by authorities. There are traditions and social and cultural attitudes conducive to co-operative participation and common social action.

Structure

The groups have constitutions and are organised as associations or clubs. This constitution sets out the aims of the group and regulates its administrative procedure. Most groups have family membership, each family paying a small subscription, usually between 6d and Is weekly, which entitles the whole family to share in the activities, services and work of the association. The committee, which is the executive of the association, is formally constituted, with a chairman, secretary and treasurer, and includes members responsible for publicity, collection of subscriptions, the youth section and old people's work. The committee is responsible to the membership for the management of the affairs of the association and is elected at an annual general meeting. Some executive committees now have subcommittees. Membership is open to every person on the estate, and associate membership is offered to a certain number of people living nearby. Some activities are restricted to members, but even so, the association often plays a significant part in the social life of the whole estate, especially in representing its needs and problems to the authorities. The characteristics, work resources and structures of the groups are discussed in detail in Chapters Two, Three and Four.

Difficulties

The nature of the groups affects their work and structure. They are autonomous, plan their own programmes, raise their own funds and are staffed by volunteers. The difficulties they face in offering a service to their members and to the estate usually arise from one or more of the following:

Lack of knowledge of simple committee procedure.

Unfamiliarity with the duties of a chairman, secretary or treasurer.

Attempting to do too many things at once, so that the committee becomes overworked and discouraged.

Too much control of the organisation centred in a small 'friendship group'.

Inability to resolve tensions in the committee or on the estate.

Lack of specific skills, for example in working with children.

Inability to spread out the work among the committee and to involve the members.

The nature of the employment of many of the committee members —shift workers, long-distance drivers, workers in public transport and the post office, which makes it difficult for them to have regular commitments.

Lack of information about where to go for advice.

Aggressive attitudes towards authority.

Lack of co-operation from authorities.

Inability to learn from other organisations of a different nature from their own.

Leadership (sociopathic) which brings personal problems to the fore in the group, blocking the accomplishment of its tasks.

Needs

The primary need of this type of group is for a consultative service which will help them to use the resources which are available to them, including resources in the wider community. The consultative service must be offered in such a way as to help groups achieve their self-chosen aims without endangering their independence or identity. This service has to be provided unconditionally without insisting on certain standards of work or on particular processes or procedures in the organisation. The agency or worker, however, is not bound to work with a group whose objects are unacceptable.

Origin

The community groups described here came into being in two ways, either spontaneously or with some assistance from outside. The residents may come together to put pressure on the authorities because something is wrong or to procure amenities, or they may be primarily concerned with social activities and the needs of the children. Most groups are concerned with both, although the emphasis varies from time to time.

Where a club-room is built with the blocks of flats, the community development workers sometimes take the initiative in bringing the new residents together.

Size and Numbers

The groups affiliated to the Association of London Housing Estates vary in the size of membership, the scope of the activities and the services they offer. The largest estate has approximately 2,000 dwellings, and the smallest approximately 300.

There are seventy-five housing estate community groups affiliated to the Association, and the workers are in touch with others. Some groups have been in existence for nearly twenty years, some have only just formed, a few existed before the war. It is the work of these groups and of the Association of London Housing Estates that will be discussed in this book.

The difficulties, needs and origins of the groups are discussed further in Chapters Two, Three and Four, and the factors affecting the development of the groups in Section 1 of Chapter Four.

The Service

The services which the groups receive come to them very largely through their own organisation, the Association of London Housing Estates. These include information and advice on simple technical and social skills; direct aid with typing, duplicating and auditing books; legal advice and a special insurance scheme. They can also look for support and encouragement from the workers where needed. These services developed in direct response to the needs and problems of the groups.

The field workers visit the estates, take part in committee meetings and discussions or watch activities. They may arrange for further talks about a problem to take place either on the estate or at their office. They put groups in touch with one another if they have experienced similar problems, and they always try to be available when needed. They are often in a good position to bring about a better understanding between the local authority and the local group, and to make links between the group and the various statutory and voluntary services in the area. So far the field workers have visited the groups from a central office, either the headquarters of the London Council of Social Service or of the Association of London Housing Estates. These offices are close together. The London Council of Social Service provided the secretariat for the Association of London Housing Estates until the spring of 1968.

Contacting the Groups

As has been pointed out in the introduction, the London Council of Social Service came into contact with the groups in different ways. At first, the Council tried to promote Community Associations in inner London, and then as the service developed, local housing officers and others told groups of the help available. Some groups 'referred' themselves, for example, small informal groups just starting up on estates heard on the 'grape-vine' about the service and made use of it. It also became known through the publications and work of the Association of London Housing Estates.

Nature of the Service

A summary of the services offered through field work in order to help the groups to help themselves includes:

Opening and defining channels of communication.

Suggesting appropriate organisational forms.

Advising on the methods of setting up an organisation and formalising its procedures.

Helping to identify recreation and welfare needs.

Advice in exploring ways of meeting these needs.

Collecting, clarifying and passing on relevant information.

Helping associations to learn to set priorities.

Helping committees to see alternative courses of action and pointing out their implications.

Showing how conflict can be resolved and co-operation achieved.

Clarifying the process of decision-making.

Helping the association to learn how to present its case to the estate, the wider community or a statutory or voluntary body.

The nature of the service is developed in Chapters Two, Three and Four, and discussed in Section 3 of Chapter Seven.

Role of the Worker and the Agency

The role of the worker is related to:

The legitimate needs of the groups.

The mandate and policy of the agency employing the worker.

The resources available to the groups, the agency and the worker.

The workers' own abilities, knowledge, understanding and skill.

The...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Original Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction and Acknowledgments
• CHAPTER 1 THE NECESSARY INFORMATION
• CHAPTER 2 THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SERVICE
• CHAPTER 3 THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE SERVICE
• CHAPTER 4 EXAMPLES OF FIELD-WORK PRACTICE: PAISLEY COMMON AS A REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY GROUP
• CHAPTER 5 THE ROLE OF THE WORKER: SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES
• CHAPTER 6 CONDITIONS OF FIELD-WORK PRACTICE
• CHAPTER 7 FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
• APPENDICES
• ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX