Unit IV

APPLICATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN DIFFERENT FIELDS

4.1 Introduction

Community Organization is the one of the helping methods in Social Work. It is applied not only for the development of communities but also in too many areas or settings. The application of community organization in the fields of Health, Correctional, Educational, Rural, Urban and Industrial are discussed here.

While applying the Community Organization in any fields of Social Work the following steps should be applied in each field.

4.1.1 Assessments of Needs and Problems

In the initial steps, make the community to attain the required capacity to identify, analyze and understand the needs and problems of the community. This could be otherwise called as assessment of needs and problems of the community by the community. Community organizer has to know about the needs and problems at the same time he has to enable the people to make an assessment of the needs and problems. In order to do this process the community has to come forward to realize and express for further action or response individually or collectively. In this process the people get empowered by way of acquiring the skills of analysis and raising the levels of consciousness

4.1.2 List the Problems

The community with the help of the community organizer lists all the identified needs and problems of the community. This is a process, which makes the people to understand their own situation. Realization of the needs and problems will bring awareness about their own situation. The involvement of the community in identifying the various needs and problems will increase the participation of the people. The problems in different settings are likely to differ and hence accordingly the identified problems are listed.

4.1.3 Give Priorities

All the needs and problems cannot be considered together for further action. Therefore, all the needs and problems are analyzed for its severity, magnitude, symptoms and causes based on which they are ordered and priority is given to all the needs and problems. The communities after having identified the needs and problems analyze them and give priority by which they have to be taken up for further actions.

4.1.4 Select a

From the priority list most urgent problem, which needs to be taken up immediately, is selected. All the problems cannot be approached simultaneously therefore there is need for selecting anyone problem and initiate further action. Based on the order of priority the first in the list is taken up for working out solutions.

4.1.5 Redefine the Problem

The community redefines the selected problem for better understanding. For better planning the problem has to be analyzed and defined before taking any further step in addressing the problem. Many times one may look at a phenomenon as a problem by its appearance or at the peripheral level instead it has to be further analyzed if it is a real problem. Does it affect the normal functioning of the community? How many people are being affected? How are they affected? If nothing is done towards this, how it will disturb the community? These are all some of the questions by which we can easily analyze and understand to redefine the problem.

4.1.6 Formulate Achievable Objective

The redefined problem is converted into achievable objectives, which will be considered for further action. At times the objectives have to be split into many parts so that they could be converted into programmes and activities towards fulfilling the needs and problem. Let us assume that illiteracy is a problem in a community. It is further analyzed that majority of the people of the locality have not gone to school at their childhood days. There was no school in their locality is one of the reasons. At present a school has been constructed and teachers are appointed. Now non-availability of the school is not the reason for illiteracy.

It is further analyzed and found that the children are not sent to the school. Though there were many children of the school going age the parents do not send them to the school because the teachers are not regular on one hand and on the other when the teachers are present they do not teach the children. In this situation the general problem externally appears to be illiteracy but its root cause is the defective function of the school.

Apply the Principle of SMART while formulating the objectives

S – Specific

M - Manageable

A – Accurate

R – Realistic

T – Time bound

4.1.7 Work out the Alternatives

Based on the objectives, the different ways and means are found out by the community through brainstorming. One should not be content with a problem with one solution because it will limit the practice of community organization. In order to solve the selected problem the community has to generate maximum number of alternatives to address the problem. Let us take the problem of illiteracy as stated in the previous stage. How do we solve the problem? The problem is directly related to the defective functioning of the school.

What are the different ways to solve this? The concerned teachers can be met and advised. The defective functioning can be brought to the notice of the higher authorities. The representatives with a written representation can meet the higher authorities. Motivate more children to join the school. Withdraw all the children from the school. Close the school. Organize a protest march. Organize a hunger strike. There could be many such alternatives that could be generated in tackling any problem.

4.1.8 Select an Appropriate Alternative

Among the proposed alternatives one of the best alternatives is selected for tackling the selected problem. To solve a problem there could be many ways but there may be one best and suitable way or method by which the problem could be easily solved. Such options should be selected. While selecting an alternative one has to start with softer approach and in a sequence. If the lower level approach fails, apply the next one and if even that one fails then select the next one and if nothing works out finally we may resort to social action methods and may be at times we may have to resort to strong measures.

4.1.9 Work out a Plan of Action

In order to materialize the selected alternative an action plan is proposed in which the responsibilities are assigned and tentative organization is structured. The time frame, resources needed and personnel involved are decided at this stage. Supposing to solve the illiteracy problem of a community it is decided to meet the authorities to present a petition. This has to be discussed at length to decide about the date, time, who, how many, where etc. At the time of meeting the authorities who is to speak? What to speak? How to speak? All these things have to be decided and role played so that it is done in a perfect manner and brings the desired results.

4.1.10 Mobilization of Resources

To implement the plan of action the required resources is assessed, identified and mobilized. The resources may be in terms of time, money, manpower and material. An estimate is made and the sources are identified for mobilizing the resources. Many a time’s manpower resources alone may help to arrive at a solution. Therefore, the community has to have a thorough understanding by which people by themselves may come forward to include themselves for further action. Apart from this any other resources have to be mobilized internally and if it is not possible then we have to think about it from external sources.

4.1.11 Implement the Plan of Action

The people implement the planned action along with the resources. The implementation takes care of the time and resources towards fulfilling the fixed goals. While implementing the plan of action the involvement of the people and their active participation by accepting the responsibilities has to be ensured. The people have to be prepared and guided to become a partner in the problem solving approach.

4.1.12 Evaluate the Action

The implemented plan is evaluated to find out the success and deviancy of the action from the objectives. Any deviancy or any undesired results are identified and the reasons for the deviancy are discussed. The positive and desired results are to be appreciated. The evaluation can be made as one of the components of working with the community. It could be organized either at periodical level or at the end of the activity, either within the organization by the organization personnel or by an outsider or by an expert. The task is not complete unless the evaluation is completed.

4.1.13 Modification

Based on the evaluation the modification needed is decided and introduced. In order to bring a permanent solution to the selected problem it is being addressed with the modifications. These modifications are proposed in order to settle the problem permanently.

4.1.14 Continuation

The modified action plan is implemented and continued. In case such a programme has to be continued in order to fulfill all the objectives proposed, it is continued.

4.1.15 Select the Next Problem

Once the selected need is fulfilled the next problem is selected from the priority list or work could be initiated in some other areas.

Whatever may be the settings there is a community or a group of people with needs and problems. In other words there is discontentment, which has to be focused, and canalized in such a way that the people come together, think together, plan together, implement and evaluate their actions. In all the stages the community is fully involved and their capacity is increased in terms of access and control over resources and decision-making. Therefore, in community organization the community organizer has to play different roles in making the people to be on their own without any dependency syndrome.

Though the types of settings have limited classification it can be said that wherever there are people or the like minded people or the affected people come together and can form a community in acquiring their due share from the society.

In different settings depending on the needs and problems and the situation of the community the roles and strategies have to be changed. Moreover, all the roles need not be applied in all the settings. In order to adopt different roles the community organizer has to be very clear about the process or the steps involved in the practice of community organization methods and skills and accordingly the roles can be selected and applied.

Rural area is differentiated with urban based on the population size, density of population and occupation of the people. In any area the population is more than 5000, the density is more than 300 per square kilometer and more than 75 per cent of the people are engaged in agricultural activities, such areas are called rural area. Along with these characteristics if the geographical location in general is in the hills it is called the tribal area. In the case of urban the population is more than 5000, density is more than 300 per square kilometer and more than 75 per cent are involved in non-agricultural activities.

Among the people inter-personal relationship and receptiveness is high and positive in rural and tribal areas whereas in urban area the primary relationship within the community is rather low. Organizing rural and tribal people is less difficult compared to urban people.

In the institutional and non-institutional settings the people are organized and not organized respectively. In an institution due to the organizational structure there is possibility to being the people together for any common purpose whereas in the case of non-institutional there is not a structured pattern and hence it may be difficult to bring them together.

4.2 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH

A community is a society of individuals that plans for the welfare of its members for mutual advantage. No community can afford to disregard the needs of the people who are ill or who might to require medical care even if the family can not bear the burden with out help. Recognizing various motives, the community must take steps to protect the health of its members. The sick person, the handicapped one, and the disabled one who cannot get the care, he or she needs can not be healthy, contributing force with in the community. There fore, in its own self interest, the community provides hospital, clinics and other health services.

Community work is gaining prominence, particularly in the practice of community medicine and in comprehensive mental, health centers. They also serve for alcoholism and planned parent hood. Increasingly, they are taking leadership on the health team, especially as health care is moving out of the hospital and into community. Community workers also involved in research and evaluation, especially in patient satisfaction measures, which is likely to increase in the years ahead. In various ways, thus, social workers are relating themselves increasingly to the community aspects of care.

The community organization helps the patients in hospital in their treatment and in community tries to prevent the occurrences of diseases and organizes programme for their health promotion.

The community organizer performs the following activities:

4.2.1 Nutrition Education

He provides the information regarding the selection of food, diet, value of rich food, food poisoning, diseases due to malnutrition, nutritional needs of children and pregnant mothers, facilities available for them.

4.2.2 Water Sanitation

He tells them the importance of safe drinking water, types of water borne diseases, sources of pollution, how to make water safe and chlorination of water.

4.2.3 Waste and Extra Disposal

He tells the methods and importance of disposal of wastes properly. He also makes them aware about the diseases due to wastes and excreta.

4.2.4 Control of Insects

He explains the disease due to biting of insects and how to control these diseases. He emphasizes to follow the principles of environmental sanitation.

4.2.5 Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene is a science which helps the man in keeping him healthy. Social worker tells them to follow healthy habits like cleaning of teeth and mouth, food, body, hands, hair, nails, eyes, clothes and keeping the food safe.

4.2.6 Health Education

He provides education concerning diseases and their causes, control methods, treatment procedures, etc.

4.2.7 Immunization Campaign

He educates the mothers about the importance of immunization and mobilizes resources for the needy.

4.2.8 School Health Services

He helps in screening of the school-going children and provides them necessary instructions for keeping their health normal.

4.2.9 Marriage Counseling

He explains to the families about the role of heredity, need of marital adjustment, causes of stresses arid strains and effects of family conflicts.

4.2.10 Recreation Facilities

Recreation is an important factor in maintaining proper health. He organizes recreational programmes for the children, youth and old persons separately.

4.3 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN CORRECTIONAL FIELD Any behavioral pattern is the result of interaction between personal factors and those in the social milieu. The mode of behavior expresses basic reaction patterns known as psychogenic traits. Biogenic and sociogenic elements together combine to create the psychogenic traits unique to each individual's personality. Thus, a leavening takes place amongst biogenic, psychogenic and sociogenic traits in order to manipulate the dynamics of personality and it holds a special promise for lending a new intellectual thought to criminological explanation. It has brought the scope of social work in the field of corrections.

The role of social work starts with the very beginning of the offenders or delinquent in the correctional institutions. In the very first interview he receives the offender affectionately and with warmth. He bears his problems with interest and behaves in such a manner that a delinquent or adult offender feels that the social worker does not belong to authority. Professional handling of intake facility, the establishment of rapport between the social worker and the delinquent, which promote free ventilation of pent-up feelings of the delinquent and gradually brings about change in his attitude and behavior through opportunities of reality testing.

After the intake, the social worker screens the offender in the institution by keeping him under close observation. He prepares case study of each offender. On the basis of the findings of the different tests and information gathered, diagnostic formulations and tentative treatment plan for the offender is chalked out. He helps in the court system also.

Every treatment of an offender must be geared towards rehabilitation. For this, social worker visits the home of the offender and makes personal contacts with offender's parents, and relations. In subsequent home visits he tries to change the attitudes of others in order to facilitate offender's adjustment after release. After release from the correctional institution, the social worker continues to contact the offender and see that he is rehabilitated as a respectable citizen.

4.4 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN INDUSTRY

 The development of factory system of production with its concentration of men and machines, and the accelerated pace of industrialization have resulted in the gradual ascendancy of machinery over men, leading to human neglect and misery. This evolved the concept of labour welfare programmes with the object of looking after the interests of the workers who had been overlooked for long.

4.4.1. Industrial Social Services

(a) Compliance of various provisions of basic Acts pertaining to health and welfare of workers, preparation and submission of required reports, returns and statistical data;

(b) Management of industrial health services-first aid, dispensary, ambulance and hospitalization

(c) Management of company schools and workers' education classes;

(d) Management of canteens and mid-day meals, etc;

(e) Administration of housing estates and worker's housing schemes;

(f) Promotion and management of recreational measures sports, tournaments, welfare centers, cinema shows, tours, etc;

(g) Supervision of provident fund and E.S.I. Scheme work; and

(h) Administration of financial benefit schemes - loans, grants, etc., and cooperative societies.

4.4.2. Industrial Social Work

(a) Orientation and induction of new employees;

(b) Communicating company policies to workers individually and providing them with correct interpretation, and communicating workers' opinions and feelings to the management

(c) Exit interviews;

(d) Care of young persons, Women and workers nearing superannuation;

(e) Helping workers in making Use of the grievance procedure, joint committees and other tripartite agencies in the plant

(f) Helping workers for better adjustment to working hours, working conditions and work groups and to help management in evolving suitable working hours, working conditions and work groups;

(g) Helping workers in their personal and family difficulties to act as a Source person to community services and to become a liaison between the plant and community service

(h) Doing all work that requires help mainly in socio-psychological environment of the plant.

4.5 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN RURAL AREAS

The community organization should takes up the following activities by applying the community organization practices for the development of rural areas.

 1. He disseminates knowledge of various developmental programmes of the government including actual benefits available under them, their conditions of eligibility, procedural requirements, etc. as also of various social welfare laws protecting and promoting the interests of weaker and vulnerable sections of society;

2. He helps the poor in actually getting the full benefits of these developmental programmes without any share of the administrative machinery or of the locally influential persons;

3. He persuades and sometimes pressurizes the government to take up such measure immediately as may be instrumental in controlling the loss to public being caused as a result of inadequacies of the developmental programmes.

4. He provides sufficient knowledge to the poor with the subtle ways in which their exploitation is done in the name of providing assistance to them. He finds out alternative sources of financial and other types of helps, provides legal aid if required, and organizes them to jointly fight against oppressors.

5. He helps in the implementation of laws directly helpful in removal of poverty such as Minimum Wages Act, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, etc.

6. He promotes the value of self-employment in place of service, makes provision for their training and assists in mobilizing of required resources including credit for starting self-employment.

7. He disseminates necessary knowledge regarding new tools, equipments, methods, techniques, varieties and ways of using them and persuades people to adopt them for speedier and better economic development.

8. He helps in changing the attitudes and beliefs of rural people to attribute everything concerning them including poverty to their destiny by convincing them that without karma (action) nothing can be attained, let alone betterment in their life and living conditions.

 It is supposed to be performed a number of roles by the social worker depending upon requirements of the situation prevailing in a community. The following are the major roles:

1. The Enabler

Helps people to understand their needs and problems, and knowledge of resources. He arouses in them the discontent with the existing situation and develops the capacity to deal with this situation.

2. The Guide

He brings people in contact with resources of the community which they need but do not make them aware about their existence.

3. The Advocate

He pleads for his clients against injustice in the distribution of benefits and services. He makes contacts with the concerned authorities and challenges the unjust stance taken by such organizations. He raises the voice against the grievances of people in order to bring necessary change in policies, programmes, plans and procedures.

4. The Experts

He provides an expert advice to people in time of need, analysis and makes diagnosis for effective functioning of the programmes.

5. The Therapists

He deals with the deep-rooted problems and makes people conscious about the disruptive forces operating in his life. He takes all measures to build their ego strong.

6. Social Changer

He tries to change the old habits of people, methods of working and pessimistic attitudes towards life which are harmful in the process of socio-economic development.

7. The Informer

He disseminates knowledge regarding various developmental programmes and actual benefits available with them.

8. The Helper

He helps the poor in getting the full benefits of the developmental plans and advises them for its proper utilization.

9. The Promoter

He promotes the value of self-employment and arranges training facilities for the same and mobilizes required resources.

10. The Preacher

He preaches to them the theory of karma and pressurizes them to realize that their betterment is in their hands.

4.6 COMMUNITY ORGANISATION IN URBAN AREAS

The process of community organization in urban areas is more difficult than in the rural areas, since the urban communities are characterized by secondary group relations in contrast to the primary group relations found in rural areas. But, in India, the situation is not so grave, as even in the cities most of the migrant people congregate according to their caste, kinship and localities. This pattern is prevalent almost in all the slum areas of India. For instance, in Delhi, all the slum-dwellers near Delhi Gate belong to the Chamar caste and all of them are supposed to have migrated from one area. The problem is to integrate these communities with other communities.

In an urban area of Bombay, neighborhood work was started by the Marathi Mission in 1927. They built a centre called the Nagpada Neighborhood House in the crowded city of Bombay. The purpose of the Neighborhood House is to meet the social needs of individual persons or groups of persons in its area of influence. It is located in the midst of a community comprising people belonging to different castes and religions. To this house are referred various problems of the area. Through a variety of planned cultural, educational, recreational, medical and social activities, each individual has an opportunity to develop his talents and to find new interests while working with others.

The process, method and technique of community organization are being used by the various Departments of Urban Community Development in India. Each project has a number of community organizers to achieve its goal of promoting the growth of community life and encouraging the participation of citizens in programmes of self-help and civic improvement.

Several private and voluntary organizations have recently entered the field of urban community development, and it may not be out of place to mention a few of them at this stage. Community and social welfare work in the city of Jamshedpur was started by the Tata Iron & Steel Company in 1959 to meet the problems of eight 'Bustis', situated in and around the steel city. The Bharat Sevak Samaj, and particularly its Delhi Pradesh Branch, has started work in some of the urban areas of Delhi.

The Rural and Urban Community Development programmes in India provide an excellent opportunity to practice community organization.

The official and non-official social welfare and social service agencies operating at the state and national level should, however, engage trained personnel to man their activities and programmes.

In recent years there has been a considerable development of services to communities and it is essential that a proper qualified worker should be engaged to mobilize and organize communities to take advantage of these services provided for their betterment.

Some of the voluntary agencies practicing community organization in India are the Indian Conference of Social Work, Indian Council of Child Welfare and Indian Red Cross.

4.7 COMMUNITY WELFARE COUNCILS AND COMMUNITY CHEST

The community health and welfare councils is composed of spectrum of public and Voluntary agencies to form a centralized planning agency for programming in a community, usually they are organized into functional divisions including heath care, family and child welfare, recreation, youth services, day care and drug abuse.

Community welfare councils provides services to social agencies in the city including a social service exchange, Volunteer service bureau, Care coordinating committee and Community Calendar to avoid conflicting schedules of major events.

Six other areas of programming are also provided

· Programme coordination

· Fact finding

· Joint action

· Improving the quality of services

· Developing public understandings.

COMMUNITY COUNCILS AND COMMUNITY CHEST

Community councils and chests are generally considered to be major specialized and primary community organization bodies in cities and metropolitan areas of America. In general, community welfare councils may be defined as inter-group bodies composed of delegates or representatives, of member organizations and of the public.

Three main types of councils may be distinguished

(1) traditional councils of social agencies,

(2) Community welfare councils, and

(3) specialized councils.

The first types of councils are concerned with the department of social welfare. Community welfare Councils are concerned with social welfare in a comprehensive sense and frequently engaged in social action as well as in efforts to coordinate social agencies and improve health and welfare programme. Specialized councils are functional divisions of either of the two and are found in such fields as family and child welfare, health, mental hygiene, rehabilitation, youth services and correctional programmes.

Councils are the voluntary bodies whose functions include: fact-finding, planning, stimulation of discussion, coordination and the improvement of team work and agency efficiency, consultation to neighborhood councils and to agencies, interpretation and the improvement of public relations, and promotion and social action. In addition, they may administer certain common services such as research information and referral, volunteer bureaus, and the social service exchange. Community chest is the modern counterpart of financial federations, which has been established largely as a result of the desire to eliminate multiple solicitations. The main job of the chest is to raise adequate funds to finance the agencies. Community chests have two major functions: campaigning annually for the support of member agencies, and distributing the funds raised through joint budgeting.