LMSW: Advocacy/ Organizing

Social Work Advocacy

Championing the rights of society’s most vulnerable members has been a core aspect of the social work profession

Advocate for change through a variety of means including writing op-ed pieces, lobbying, organizing local protests, and helping to change laws that adversely affect vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society.

What is community organizing?

• involves the work social workers do to engage with groups, organizations, and communities in order to bring about positive changes within the community and to solve social problems identified by members of the community

• the social worker is coming alongside the community as a partner, keeping in mind that the community is its own best expert

Steps of community organizing

step 1: Integrate into the community

step 2: Identify the issue impacting the community

Step 3: Identify individuals and create core group

step 4: Set goals and objectives

Step 5: Create an action plan to meet goals

Step 6: Execute and monitor the action plan

Step 7: Evaluate the effect of the action plan on the stated goals

Step 1: Integrate into the community

The social worker should immerse themself in the community in order to gain understanding of community dynamics, strengths, and concerns, and to begin building trusting relationships

Step 2: Identify the issue impacting the community

Identify the felt needs/problems impacting the community and work with community members to rank their importance and urgency

Step 3: Identify individuals and create core group

• Engage local leaders and individuals that have been identified during step 1

  • Consider well-respect, influential community members who are passionate about and committed to working towards change

Step 4: Set goals and objectives

• Create goals and objectives for the issues identified in step 2

• when setting the goal, you are identifying the overall outcome/ change that you are expecting through your community engagement efforts

• the objectives specify the details of the community intervention in measurable terms. The achievement in objectives will lead to achievement of broader goals

Step 5: Create an action plan to meet goals

• Identify ways to work towards objectives

• determine possible positives and negative outcomes as well as barriers that could arise as you work towards the stated objectives

• identify resources that are needed to accomplish goals and objectives

Step 6: Execute and monitor the action plan

Train staff as needed and engage in community meetings and the action plan set up during step 5

Step 7: Evaluate the effect of the action plan on the stated goals

• Evaluation is an ongoing process done after each community organizing activity. Reflection should take place to identify what worked, what was accomplished, and what is still being worked towards

• a final evaluation should be done to assess the overall impact and the accomplishment of the stated goals and objectives

• Reassess the problem and determine if further intervention is needed

Lobbying

The process of influencing public policy. Lobbyists are professional advocates that are hired to represent specific causes and interest groups in order to be that group’s voice to legislators and members of congress

• Lobbyists engage in discussions with legislators to gain their support for a bill

• the lobbyist brings a typed summary of the issue and reviews key points with the legislator.

Coalitions

A group of people or organizations who share a common interest and work collaboratively to achieve a shared goal

can be created to achieve a specific goal and then part ways, or they can become permanent organizations of their own

What are the two types of coalitions

Internal and external

Internal Coalition

work with a specific organization to achieve a goal

External Coalition

Work with multiple organizations to achieve a common goal