4 The Concept of Community in Social Work Practice As we neared the end of the twentieth century, the rich were richer, the poor, poorer. And people everywhere now had a lot less lint, thanks to the lint rollers made in my hometown. It was truly the dawn of a new era. Michael Moore, American fi lm maker, writer Th is is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-fi rst century — solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will defi ne themselves not by their own identity but by that of others. Elie Wiesel, writer, political activist, Nobel laureate Th e American city should be a collection of communities where every member has a right to belong. It should be a place where every man feels safe on his streets and in the house of his friends. It should be a place where each individual’s dignity and self- respect is strengthened by the respect and aff ection of his neighbors. It should be a place where each of us can fi nd the satisfaction and warmth which comes from being a member of the community of man. Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States We all have a mental image of community. clubs, congregations, teams, neighborhood Fraught with personal meaning, the word com- groups, town meetings, and even virtual com- munity conjures up memories of places where munities experienced through chat rooms. It we grew up, where we now live and work, physi- evokes special events and rituals — Fourth of July cal structures and spaces — cities, towns, neigh- fi reworks, weddings, funerals, parades, and the borhoods, buildings, stores, roads, streets. It fi rst day of school. It stirs up sounds and smells calls up memories of people and relationships— and feelings— warmth, companionship, nostalgia, families, friends and neighbors, organizations, and sometimes fear, anxiety, and confl ict as associations of all kinds: congregations, PTAs, well. We all grew up somewhere; we all live in Copyright © 2011. Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. 94 EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 9/9/2015 2:45 PM via COLLEGE OF ST SCHOLASTICA AN: 357093 ; Hardcastle, David A., Powers, Patricia R., Wenocur, Stanley.; Community Practice : Theories and Skills for Social Workers Account: s8889607 The Concept of Community in Social Work Practice 95 communities somewhere; we all desire human 3. a symbolic unit of collective identifi cation” associations, some degree of belonging to a (p. 1) human community; we all carry around some sense of community and communities of We also borrow from Willie, Willard, and memory within us. It goes deep into our souls. Ridini ( 2008 ) with our concern for horizontal But it is hard to imagine a more elusive con- and vertical community linkages and the nature cept than the idea of community. Its elusiveness of the institutional interactions. comes from its multidimensionality. Cohen Th is conception of community is compatible ( 1985 ), as cited in Chapter 1, found 90 diff erent with that used by other community practice defi nitions of community in the 1985 social sci- authorities (Butcher, Banks, & Henderson with ence literature. Community means a lot and it Robertson, 2007 ; Delgado & Staples, 2008 ; means diff erent things, from the romantic and Hardina, 2002) and has the value of recognizing mystical to the mundane. Bellah and his col- the spatial, interactional, and emotional compo- leagues defi ne a community as a “group of people nents of community. who are socially interdependent, who participate Th is chapter establishes the basic concepts, together in discussion and decision making, and variables, and changes related to community life. who share certain practices that both defi ne the Th e following two chapters examine methodolo- community and are nurtured by it” (Bellah, gies of studying communities and methods for Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, & Tipton, 1985 , hearing community concerns. To change com- p. 333). Cohen’s ( 1985 ) conception of commu- munity, its parts, processes, and particularities nity has emotional charging, personal identifi ca- must be understood. tion, and symbolic construction by people. Th e common elements in sociological defi ni- Resting on its meaning, community is “a system tions of community are geographic area, social of values, norms, and moral codes which pro- interaction, common ties, and shared senti- voke a sense of identity to its members. ments. While connection to a territorial base is Structures do not . create meaning for people. common with neighborhoods, villages, or cities . [Without meaning] many of the organiza- fi tting the defi nition, functional and cultural tions designed to create `community’ as pallia- communities or “communities of interest” with- tive to anomie and alienation are doomed to out clear geographic bases (such as the social failure” (p. 9). “Community, therefore, is where work community, the Chicano community, the one learns and continues to practice how to ‘be gay and lesbian communities) are also included. social’ (p. 15).” Th e British Columbia Ministry of Spatial units with clearly defi ned geographic Children and Family Development ( 2003 ), fol- boundaries are seemingly becoming less impor- lowing Mattessich and Monsey (1997 ), defi ne tant to a sense of community because rapid elec- community more dryly as “people who live tronic communication technology enables within a geographically defi ned area and who virtual communities and ease of physical mobil- have social and psychological ties with each ity. We can be connected to several communities other and with the place where they live.” Berry of interest because we are geographically mobile ( 1996 ) argued that community has no value that and increasingly tied together though electronic is economically or practically benefi cial. Th e rea- and other media. We can interact globally on soning is that if something can’t be assigned an collective interests. As social workers, we need to economic value, it serves no purpose. understand that our clients belong to multiple We take a less neoliberal economic position communities of identity. and argue that communities have consummate Communities provide people with rich social value. We have adopted Fellin’s ( 2001 ) formal and personal lives. Th ey shape the way we think defi nition of communities as “social units with and act. Th ey surround us with values and norms one or more of the following three dimensions: of behavior, explicit laws, and unwritten rules of conduct. Th ey furnish us with meanings and 1. a functional spatial unit meeting sustenance interpretations of reality and assumptions about needs the world. Th ey provide resources and opportu- 2. a unit of patterned interaction nities, albeit highly unevenly — places to work, to Copyright © 2011. Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 9/9/2015 2:45 PM via COLLEGE OF ST SCHOLASTICA AN: 357093 ; Hardcastle, David A., Powers, Patricia R., Wenocur, Stanley.; Community Practice : Theories and Skills for Social Workers Account: s8889607 96 Understanding the Social Environment and Social Interaction learn, to grow, to buy and sell, to worship, to hang to the civic culture, local setting, and institu- out, to fi nd diversion and respite, to care and be tional context that also are part of the “environ- cared for. Th ey confront us with challenges, ment-surrounding-the-person” (Johnson, 2000 ). problems, and traumas; they intrude on our lives, Your public life is available to others. Lappé and and they hold out the possibilities for solutions. Du Bois ( 1994 ) provide a delineation of some Communities are where we live our lives. roles in the various sectors of public life. Th e social work ecological model’s emphasis Geographic communities evolve in many on person-in-environment places communities forms and have been classifi ed in numerous ways as objects of social work intervention as much as such as enclave, edge, center, retreat (Brower, individuals, families, and groups. Social workers 1996 ); white versus blue-collar; and boom versus can build competent communities. A competent bust. Th ese descriptive structural ideas cannot community, according to Fellin ( 2001 ), is a com- substitute for the community narrative. munity that “has the ability to respond to the Community is more than just local physical wide range of member needs and solve its prob- space, especially in urban areas, and needs social lems and challenges of daily living” (p. 70). identity (Fellin, 2001 ). Residents can share the Community competence is enhanced when resi- same geographic space and hold widely diff ering dents have (a) a commitment to their commu- ideologies and particularistic religious, ethnic, nity, (b) self-awareness of their shared values and class identities. Th ey may not constitute a and interests, (c) openness in communication, community. Gays, Cuban Americans, and (d) wide participation in community decision Hassidic Jewish Americans inhabit South Beach, making, and (e) a sense of collective self-effi cacy Florida, without sharing the same private lan- and empowerment. guages, political agenda, social interests, or social institutions. A London resident may think about himself more as a businessman or an immigrant Basic Community Concepts from Pakistan than as a Londoner. People in physical proximity — that is, expatriates, interna- Community, Neighborhood, and tional travelers, guest workers, or illegal immi- Public Life grants— can still share more cultural affi nity with Community empowerment, community control, those back home than with the new neighbor- and community partnership abound in political hood.