UNEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS SERVICE Report on the Feasibility Of

\ ° n * i 8ROTHERHOOD OF. ST. LAURENCE 67 BRUNSWICK STREET, FITZROY ARCHIVES UNEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS SERVICE Report on the feasibility of Unemployment Rights Information Stalls. by Debbie Manning. November 1979. * 1. INTRODUCTION (i) Background to this report. This report concerns a project which examines the feasibility of Welfare Rights Stalls, The project was undertaken by Debbie Manning, a Monash University Social Work student, as her final fieldwork placement. The placement began in early August and concludes in early December on a full-time basis. The project was divided into three stages, an Exploration, Action and finally an Evaluation stage. It was felt that as Rights Stalls are a relatively new idea, it was important to ascertain what program other groups were operating in that area before beginning a pilot project. During the Actipn phase the Unemployment Rights Information Stall was tested in several different forms and locations. The Evaluation stage involved reflecting on the experiences of the stalls, and drawing together the findings, along with suggest ions for possible future directions the Unemployment Rights Service might take in further utilising the information stall idea. ' The observations contained in this report are basically impressionistic, rather than statistical, as it was considered import- and not to disturb the informality and spontaneity- of the stall's operation. However in the future, it is recommended that an un obtrusive data collective method be devised to further test the effectiveness of the stalls. (ii) The Service Context At its conception, the Unemployment Rights Service was perceived as having four main objectives which are to provide (a) An advocacy service on behalf of individuals, and where appropriate , obtaining legal advice.. (b) An information dissemination service to individuals and communities about benefit entitlements, roles, procedures and regulations. (c) a community education program informing agencies and organisations of people's rights, entitlements and access to resources. (d) a limited social action component in so far as individuals and groups are empowered with knowledge, skills, together with the capacity to rectify injustices and reform the social security systems where appropriate. The Service focuses on the issue of income security for unemployed people, and emphasises the relationship between individuals and government bureaucracies. A rights service approach at an individual level, involves enabling people to maximise their entitlements and the security of those entitlements by both advising the individual of the working of relevant rights and procedures, and presenting the person's circumstances in such a way as to gain as favourable an interpretation of the rules and procedures as possible.^ Social action is seen as much as being about the empowering of those affected by Social Security decisions as it is about actual 3 changes xn policies and procedures. Community education has so far been concerned with conveying two main information messages. The first involves countering the largely held unsympathetic view of the unemployed by conforming the attitude 'stand up for your rights', while the second message concerns providing information 4 about what an unemployed person's rxghts are. The focus of communxty education is therefore on information and attitude change. Traditionally people have obtained information on welfare rights by personally seeking it out from pamphlets or welfare agencies. The experience of this service however has found that the number of client contacts at the Service's Fitzroy office has been less than satisfactory and it seems that we need to go beyond just those . 5 seeking out help and advice m a crisis. It has been found that people seeking help, start with their own family and friends, and only later do they look for 'official' help. It is therefore indicated that the Service should aim not only to offer a service to those unemployed individuals who find their way to the office in Fitzroy, but also aim to provide information to • their families and friends, about the rights of unemployed people and the existance of an agency equipped to assist those having problems with their unemployment benefits. Some models that have been suggested as projects fulfilling these objectives include (a) A caravan or street stall on unemployment rights. (b) A street party or local fair with a rights stall component. (c) A module of presentations of Unemployment to be taken around small local groups like craft groups, senior citizens centres, schools, migrant English classes. 1. Hollingworth P.J.' Unemployment Rights Service July 1978. 2. Einfeld S. Unemployment Rights' Service: first report June 1979. 3. A,B.I.D. 4. A.B.I. D. 5. Einfeld S. Unemployment Information Program 1979. (unpublished) . ./3 The third model, involving presenting information on unemployment rights to groups has been in operation in one form for some time. The .co-ordinator takes up regular invitations to speak to classes of leaving age school students on the rules and procedures of Unemployment Benefits and their rights if they are unemployed after leaving school. The service feels speaking to school students is an important method of communicating information more widely> and other speaking engagements are accepted as time permits. (iii) Expectations The idea of Information Stalls in shopping centres and M at fairs and markets is seen as an extension of the Services community education function by providing a more visible, accessible and informal venue for the unemployed and their families and friends to obtain information about unemployment. It was.also felt that by offering an information stall service in public thoroughfares, where many people will pass by, unemployed people may feel less stigma attached to approaching an informal stall, even though it is in a public area, rather than having to enter an office and interview situation. In this way more people will be reached, which may lead to a greater utilisation of the Fitzroy Office. A favourable, informal first contact will hopefully give a prospective client more confidence to approach the office to persue their request for assist ance . 2. OTHER EXPERIENCES. (i) Child Poverty Action Group (Great Britain 1969-70 The concept of Welfare Rights Information Stalls is relatively new to the Australian scene. A successful program in Great Britain was operated by the York branch of the C.P.A.G. from January 1969 to June 1970. The establishment of the stall was based on three main aims* They were to provide a continuous and long term information service on welfare benefits and encourage people to claim their entitlements; to publicise the fact that relative poverty still existed in York; and to provide a focus for the discontent felt by people in their dealings with the welfare authorities, including providing assistance and advocacy in giving voice to claimants grievances. .../4 The stall operated every Friday between 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. over an 18 month period, and was situated in a heavily used thorough way just off the main square of the market. The stall consisted of displays and leaflets informing people of the various benefits for which they may be eligible, and was manned on a roster basis by teams of activists from the town and university. As a result of the large number of enquiries they received in the stall just seven months of operation, the Group concluded that there was a great need to inform people about their eligibility for benefits. Formal agencies were not reaching out to people. What was required was a continuous system of advice and information, specifically geared to those people, which reached out beyond the centralised office. Such a service should not only provide advice but be a complaints and advocacy service. It is significant that the stall received approximately the same number of enquiries each Friday as the local C.A.B. saw each week, without reducing the load of the C.A.B. (C.A.B. = Citizens Advice Bureau) (ii) Medibank. Operates an information and recruitment .program using a mobile caravan, and an information booth which can be divided into two half booths if demand is great. The development of this program was not based on any indepth research, but grew from the experience of those involved and trial and error techniques. Also there have been no written reports on the development, organisation or evaluation of the program. The choice of caravan and booth was made on the basis of the budget allowed for the program. Their use is dependent on the site, most often determined by the physical requirements of the space allocated and the availability of power for the caravan. Permission to operate in shopping centres is rarely refused by the local Council in street shopping areas where the caravan is utilised, but more often the centre managers of shopping complex's will not allow Medibank to set up its booth. In these cases negotiations are made with individual chemist shop owners who in most cases take, advantage of the opportunity and obvious business benefits of having a Medi bank booth within the boundaries of their shop. The choice of shopping centre is based on the concentration of members revealed through computer postcode scans, where established members will require information, while transient areas are noted for concentration of publicity. .../5 The caravan is set up with information both inside and in perspex dispensers hung outside the caravan so that people who don't want to commit themselves can obtain information easily. The booth comprises a counter high enough to stand behind, with brochures in dispensers on the counter at eye level with passers by. A sign is hung on the front of the counter to attract attention, and information is available with leaflets on displays around the counter, if there is room. The van. and booth are in the one position for a period of 4-7 days (Hibernian Society 2-3 days) and it was regarded as being very important to spend this amount of time in order to take advantage of the publicity.

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