How can social workers best support the diverse communities across the UK who are making change through joint social action?

Social workers can play a crucial role in supporting diverse communities across the UK who are making change through joint social action.

Social action refers to a collective effort by individuals, groups, and communities to bring about positive social change. It involves taking action to address social problems and promote social justice, equity, and equality. Social action can take many forms, including activism, community organizing, advocacy, and service provision. It often involves working collaboratively with others to identify, address, and overcome the root causes of social issues, such as poverty, discrimination, inequality, and social exclusion. Social action can be initiated by individuals, groups, or communities, and it can involve various strategies, such as raising awareness, lobbying, campaigning, and direct action. The ultimate goal of social action is to create positive social change and improve the quality of life for individuals and communities.

Here are some ways social workers can best support these communities:

Build relationships: Social workers can build relationships with the communities they serve by engaging with them on a personal level. This means taking the time to listen to their concerns, understanding their needs and challenges, and acknowledging their strengths and resilience.
Empower communities: Social workers can empower communities by providing them with the tools and resources they need to organize and make change. This can include training on leadership, advocacy, and community organizing, as well as access to funding and other resources.
Foster collaboration: Social workers can foster collaboration between different community groups, organizations, and stakeholders to promote joint social action. This can include facilitating meetings and workshops, and creating opportunities for shared learning and networking.
Address systemic barriers: Social workers can work to identify and address systemic barriers that prevent marginalized communities from accessing resources and opportunities. This can involve advocating for policy and systemic changes that promote equity and justice.
Support sustainable change: Social workers can support sustainable change by helping communities develop long-term strategies and plans that build on their strengths and address root causes of social issues. This can involve providing ongoing support and evaluation to ensure that progress is being made towards the desired outcomes.

Overall, social workers can play a vital role in supporting diverse communities across the UK who are making change through joint social action by building relationships, empowering communities, fostering collaboration, addressing systemic barriers, and supporting sustainable change.

Communication with people with a sensory impairment

Communication is the foundation of all human interactions, and it plays an especially crucial role in supporting people with sensory impairments. Sensory impairment refers to a range of conditions that affect one or more of the senses, including hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell. These impairments can make it challenging for individuals to communicate effectively with others, and they may experience significant social isolation and reduced quality of life as a result. In this article, we will explore the importance of effective communication and strategies for supporting individuals with sensory impairments.

Effective Communication

Effective communication is essential for establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships with others. For individuals with sensory impairments, communication can be particularly challenging, and traditional methods of communication may not be sufficient. Therefore, it is crucial to identify alternative forms of communication that are accessible to individuals with sensory impairments.

For example, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may require the use of sign language or written communication to communicate effectively. In contrast, individuals with visual impairments may rely on audio descriptions or tactile feedback to understand their surroundings. It is essential to understand the unique communication needs of each individual and to use communication methods that are accessible to them.

Supporting Individuals with Sensory Impairments

Supporting individuals with sensory impairments requires a collaborative approach that involves both the individual and their support network. Here are some strategies for supporting individuals with sensory impairments:

Use Clear and Concise Language: When communicating with individuals with sensory impairments, it is important to use clear and concise language. Avoid using complex sentences or technical jargon that may be difficult to understand.
Speak Clearly and Slowly: Individuals with hearing impairments may benefit from slower speech and clear pronunciation. It is also important to maintain eye contact and face the individual when speaking to ensure they can see your lips moving.
Use Assistive Technology: Assistive technology can be a valuable tool for individuals with sensory impairments. For example, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and communication devices can help individuals with hearing impairments communicate effectively.
Provide Visual Aids: Individuals with visual impairments may benefit from visual aids such as Braille or large print materials. Audio descriptions and tactile feedback can also be helpful.
Be Patient and Understanding: Individuals with sensory impairments may require more time to process information and communicate effectively. It is important to be patient and understanding, and to provide support as needed.

Conclusion

Effective communication is essential for supporting individuals with sensory impairments. By understanding the unique communication needs of each individual and using accessible communication methods, we can promote social inclusion and improve the quality of life for individuals with sensory impairments. With patience, understanding, and the use of assistive technology, we can ensure that individuals with sensory impairments have the opportunity to participate fully in society and communicate effectively with others.

Risk, Assessment and Intervention

Risk, assessment, and intervention are essential components of social work practice. Social workers are tasked with the responsibility of identifying, assessing, and intervening in situations where individuals, families, and communities are at risk. Risk, in social work, refers to situations where there is potential harm to an individual or group of individuals. This harm may be physical, emotional, or social, and may be caused by various factors, including poverty, abuse, neglect, discrimination, mental illness, and substance abuse.

Assessing risk is a crucial first step in social work practice. It involves gathering information about the situation and the individuals involved, analyzing the information, and determining the level of risk. Social workers use a range of tools and techniques to assess risk, including interviews, observation, and assessment scales. The assessment process is ongoing, and social workers regularly review and update their assessments to ensure that interventions are appropriate and effective.

Once risk has been assessed, social workers develop and implement interventions to reduce or eliminate the risk. Intervention may involve direct work with individuals, families, or communities, or it may involve advocacy and policy work. Interventions may be preventative, early intervention, or crisis intervention. Preventative interventions are aimed at addressing risk factors before they become significant problems. Early intervention is targeted at addressing problems in their early stages before they become more severe, while crisis intervention is aimed at addressing immediate risks and ensuring safety.

Interventions in social work may take many forms, including counseling, therapy, advocacy, education, and practical support. The choice of intervention will depend on the specific needs of the individual or group, as well as the resources available. Social workers may work collaboratively with other professionals, such as health care professionals, educators, and law enforcement officials, to ensure that interventions are effective and appropriate.

It is essential that social workers are skilled in managing risk and developing effective interventions. Social work training programs and professional development opportunities provide social workers with the knowledge and skills they need to assess risk and intervene effectively. Social workers must also be aware of the ethical and legal considerations when working with individuals, families, and communities at risk. They must respect the autonomy and dignity of the individuals they work with and ensure that their interventions are culturally sensitive and appropriate.

In conclusion, risk, assessment, and intervention are critical components of social work practice. Social workers must be skilled in identifying and assessing risk, developing and implementing effective interventions, and working collaboratively with other professionals. Social workers play a vital role in promoting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities by addressing risk factors and reducing harm. Effective risk management and intervention are key to promoting positive outcomes for those at risk and ensuring that social work practice is effective and ethical.

Moving on

Moving on shows Lucy, the victim of a mugging, replaying events endlessly in her mind. Only when she meets the mugger in a restorative justice conference is she able to put the incident behind her – it gives her a chance to explain the impact of the crime, and humanises him in the process.

Homelessness and the penal system

The new prisons minister, Robert Buckland MP, recently replied to a Parliamentary Question from Richard Burgon MP, the shadow justice secretary, concerning the number of people received into prison who are homeless. This was interesting because most debate has centred around people being homeless on release from prison, which is, of course, still a major problem.

The response was staggering. The number of people known to be of no fixed abode when they were received into the 51 prisons listed increased from 18,493 in 2015 to 23,488 in 2018. This includes men and women but excludes children. The figures will include people remanded to prison by the courts and those who are sentenced.

Bizarrely, some big prisons that receive from the courts were missing from the list and the total number of homeless people sent to prison is undoubtedly even greater than the information provided by the minister.

Missing from the list were 73 prisons. Most of them do not receive people from the courts, or indeed the streets, because they are high security or training prisons; nevertheless prisons like Wormwood Scrubs and Preston were missing. This means that the full picture of how prisons are being used to sweep up the homeless is not clear and is being under-counted.

We do not know how many children and women who are homeless are being sent to prison. Missing from the list are prisons like Styal, which holds women, and Feltham, which holds children.

I have always argued that the penal system is used to sweep up the poor; now it seems we have definite proof. As the cuts in funding for local government have sliced into services for people with addiction, health, mental health problems the number of the homeless has increased exponentially. They are forced into petty crime to survive.

Spend a few hours in any magistrates courts and you will be transported back to the eighteenth century. The shock is that anyone thinks that this is humane, and it certainly is not economically efficient.

This week an Urgent Notification was issued to Bristol prison because it is in such dire state. Hidden in the litany of failures the inspector noted that almost half the men released from the prison were homeless.

The government admitted that, of the 6,000 women released from prison in 2017/8, only just over a half had settled accommodation, 240 were known to be going to rough sleeping and 831 women were ‘other homeless’. Nothing was known about 778 women released from prisons. Inspectors have noted that prisons have given sleeping bags and tents to men and women released from prison.

People who are homeless are being swept into prison and then dumped back onto the streets. Prisons are a merry-go-round for the people too poor and too fragile to sort their lives out. But instead of providing support, we are spending billions every year policing them, criminalising them and incarcerating them.

There is a chink of light. Overwhelmingly these are the people who are given short sentences by the courts. The government is planning to consult on its plan to get rid of short prison sentences. Let’s hope that this happens expeditiously and that we can close down some of the prisons holding the homeless so that funding is diverted to the local services that would prevent anti-social behaviour and support people to live healthier, happier lives.

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Victim-Survivors of rape don’t feel justice has been met, even if the accused goes to prison

The Scottish criminal justice process leaves those who have reported a rape or serious sexual assault feeling marginalised and with little control regardless of their case’s outcome, a new study has found.

Researchers from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Glasgow interviewed victim-survivors who have navigated their way through the system to try and understand their ‘justice journey’.

While some positive experiences were identified, such as support provided through advocacy services and sensitivity shown by some specialist criminal justice professionals, victim-survivors also highlighted the lengthy duration of the process, administrative errors and poor communication from the police and courts. Other issues such the physical environments in which statements are given, the removal and non-return of personal possessions for evidential purposes, and in particular, being subjected to distressing questioning at trial, were also raised as significant points of concern.

Most notably none of the 17 victim-survivors, including those whose cases had resulted in a guilty verdict, believed that justice has been achieved.

The cumulative impacts of their experience of sexual violence and going through the criminal justice process led to victim survivors feeling their relationships with family had become strained, their health had deteriorated, including suffering night terrors, suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

Beth said: “…it was three years of re-traumatisation.” Helen felt it had “totally destroyed everything”, while Lottie said she “didn’t know how to live for 18 months.”

Overall, the findings suggest there is a considerable gap between how victim-survivors anticipate their case will be treated and the reality of the criminal justice process. Victim-survivors felt that the criminal justice system is weighted in favour of the accused and that it does not adequately represent their interests.

Dr Oona Brooks-Hay who co-authored the report with Prof Michele Burman and Dr Lisa Bradley said she hoped the research findings would push for real change across the criminal justice system to address the significant concerns raised around how victim-survivors are informed, supported and represented.

Dr Brooks-Hay said: “There is a pressing need to look at how the criminal justice process can be reformed to meet the needs of victim-survivors who have had the courage to engage with the system.

“While our research reveals that some relatively minor practical changes could go a long way to improving experiences, more radical change such as the introduction of independent legal representation in serious sexual offence cases, must be given serious consideration. Sexual offences have profound and distinctive impacts, and therefore merit distinctive responses.”

The recommendations are far ranging across the whole of the criminal justice process, and include specialised sexual assault training for all police officers, early access to support from specialist agencies, better protection at court to avoid meeting the accused and his family. The recommendations also call for a review of the nature and manner of questioning in the court that infringes on the victim-survivors’ right to dignity and privacy, and which was found to be a significant source of distress.

In their own words;

On giving evidence
Pippa: “…when I say you’ve been raped before, it feels the exact same way when you’re sitting in that courtroom, you have nothing, like you literally are stripped bare of everything and don’t have any control over it. You have not had any say in this, all you have told them is like your story and they just go and do what they want with it.”

Receiving court support from an Advocacy Worker
Beth: “I don’t know if I could have had the courage to say what I did without, because she [Advocacy Worker] gave me courage. Because I knew someone had my back.”

On communication and administration
Debbie: “The administration from the criminal justice or whoever deals with it, the Crown Office, was shocking. A lot of letters were to the wrong names, to the wrong address, just the mail correspondence thing was shocking.”

On the police investigation
Nat: “…[the police officer is] a hero […] To have someone listen to you, after all of that time, and take the little bits that you’re giving them, and not to dismiss them, but to actually then go off and do something about it.”

Uncertainty and delays
Lottie:” I didn’t know how to live for 18 months. I didn’t know, you know, do I just forget about it, but then it has to be all dragged back up again, or do I just live my life on pause?”

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