Training Kit : Personalised Social Support
2012
Module 8
Social work tools
with the community
Shirin Kiani and Annie Lafrenière
(Technical Resources Division)
Handicap International
2012
Overview
Community level social work tools:
1. Facilitating meetings
2. Mapping services: accessibility
3. Networking and forging links
4. Social communication
Facilitating meetings
An important skill
Facilitation
• From time to time, you may be in charge
of facilitating meetings or even being a
mediator between two parties that may not
agree (e.g. DPO)
• The ability to facilitate a meeting is a very
good one to have to start, continue and
end a meeting well.
What is Facilitation?
• Tool to direct and guide discussions,
meetings and decision-making processes
• Ensures everyone has a chance to speak,
in a smooth, effective, participatory and
democratic way.
Why use facilitation?
• To keep things focused
• To help get tasks accomplished and
decisions made
• To allow everyone a chance to participate
• To make meetings more effective
Roles in facilitation
• Role depends on context
– Facilitator is NOT in control ; authority granted by
group
– Responsible for ensuring meetings are inclusive,
productive and effective
– Responsible for the process NOT the content
• Other roles in facilitation:
– Time keeper
– Note taker
– ‘’Vibes watcher’’
Tips for Effective Meetings
•
•
•
•
Think ‘’MAPS’’
Review ground-rules at the beginning
Review decisions at the end of the meeting
Plan the agenda for next meeting before you
leave and make sure everyone leaves with a
task for the next meeting
• Rotate facilitators
• Make sure to introduce new people
• Etc.
10 Tips for Facilitating Discussion
(www.ssc.org)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Paraphrase
Check
Compliment
Elaborate
Energize
6. Disagree
7. Mediate
8. Pull
9. Change
10. Summarize
Mapping resources
With a focus on
accessibility
Identifying what exists in the person’s
community
Types of resources:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Human (social network)
Institutional and services (formal and informal)
Natural
Social / community groups
Cultural and leisure areas/centers/activities
Infrastructure
How to collect information
1. Community scan + site visits
2. Interview/survey key people or other people
with disabilities
Remember:
*
INFORMAL resources are just as important
as FORMAL ones.
Accessible resource
• Physical: inside/outside
the structure
• Attitude: Equal services
and treatment provided,
open to PWD participation
• Communication: Materials/information in
accessible format, person is able to ask questions.
• Reasonable accommodation: for
workplace/school, necessary adjustments made
for accessibility
Accessible services
(review module 2)
Access to services can be assessed looking at:
• Availability
• Accessibility (approach, physical access,
information)
• Affordability
• Acceptability
• Accountability
• Quality
Database / directory of services
Networking and
forging links
What is networking?
… the ‘art of building
alliances’
… when two or more
individuals, families,
communities,
organizations build a
relationship
can lead to partnership
development
Examples of networking…
• attending different types of meetings and talking to
people there
• talk to parents/teachers when attending
school/sporting or music events
• volunteer at various community events
• talking to your neighbors
• starting a conversation with someone while waiting
at an office or anywhere
Why network?
• Expands your thinking, learn
what other people do
• Expanding your circle of
resources, may be helpful
• Kept up to date about developments in the
community
• Encourages collaboration, better utilization of
services, and partnership formation
• You never know where you find allies and persons
interested in addressing social issues and the rights
of PWD, Important to network with many people.
How to start networking?
• Be aware of community events
and attend them.
• Be aware of different resource
centres and visit them.
• Explain your work to others, maybe the person you
meet will be interested in helping your work.
• Network with anyone in any setting (e.g. festivals,
meetings, prayer place, school events, health clinics).
• For deeper networking, choose the ‘right group’ or
stakeholder to speak with further so that your
networking is effective and leads to results.
You’ve done your mapping…
You’ve done your networking… now…
how to forge links
Who to link up with: Power and interest
Find the persons who are
connectors in the community…
Know everybody and are willing and :
• able to make connections between people
• able to spread information to many people easily
• well known, trusted and respected
Valuable people to forge links with…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Government staff - ministry of social services
Leaders of various groups
Principals of schools
Religious leaders
Principal of vocational training centre
Successful business persons
Community health workers
Media persons
Political leaders
Traditional healers
Etc.
A few tips on forging links…
• Practice a strong opening speech to explain your work,
the situation of people in your community
• Watch the faces and reaction of the leader/connector ,
if they are confused try to clarify. If they seem
interested, ask them about their experiences with social
issues.
More on forging links
• Try to build a relationship with the leader you are
engaging with, get to know a bit about them and
their work. See them often, be visible to them.
• Keep a list of all the
community leaders/connectors
you’ve identified and their
contact information
• Follow up soon after you
made initial contact with a
leader/connector to make sure
they do not forget you.
Social work the community
…
Community is . . .
• a group of individuals
• who live close to one another,
• who share a common environment,
and
• who identify themselves as a part of
that community.
Types of Communities
• Group of people who live within a certain
area.
• Religious community.
• Ethnic group.
• Any group of people that has a feeling of
“we.”
A person can be a part of several
communities simultaneously.
Community social work
• The process of assisting the local community
members to evaluate, plan, and coordinate its efforts
to provide for the community's social needs.
• Includes social
communication to
create
social change on
key issues.
Social communication
and
Social change
What are they?
Can social communication
CAUSE
Social change?
Social change impacts beliefs and beliefs
can run deep…. remember:
• Beliefs are learned when we are
children from family members, school
teachers, friends, neighbors.
• Often beliefs are not specifically
taught but children learn them by
watching older people and what they
do.
• Once you understand someone’s
beliefs, find ways to question those
beliefs in a non-threatening way if you
find they discriminate.
Social communication
methods
•
•
•
•
•
•
Group song
Making a speech at an important event.
School essay/art competitions on disability
Mount posters in different parts of town
Story telling using flipcharts
Disability awareness games (blindfolded, use
wheelchair, walk with crutches)
• Street dramas or regular drama/play
• Inclusive ‘sports day for all’
Components of a social change
activity
• Target group: WHO do you need to
impact, reach with your message?
• Message: WHAT do you need to
communicate / share?
– Be specific
– Be action-oriented: what
you want people to do
– Be information-based
– Be relevant: impact many
Components… (cont’d)
• Choose the BEST time and place for
your activity/event
• Get someone from the community to
help you organize the event.
• Understand community attitude/beliefs
on the topic before you are presenting
Community social work
Community social work
1. Community development: Attempts to create
social conditions of economic and social progress,
preferably with the participation of the whole community.
Focuses on the goal of citizen participation.
2. Social planning: Emphasizes modification of
institutional practices, working at the government and nonprofit level, this areas assumes that well-intentioned people
will be responsive to sound arguments.
3. Social action: action for justice, focused on changing
policy and practice that discriminate against certain groups.
Link to practice
* Give participants 10 minutes to answer this question individually on a piece of paper,
and then do a roundtable with each person sharing some of their answers.
• Based on what you learned today, what ….is the social
work tool that you think will be most useful to you?
• What has been your past barriers to working with a
community?
• Have you found ways to overcome working with others?