The 5 activities below can be utilized for advocating for the homeless and the lack of affordable housing.
- talking with our state officials
- advocating for the homeless population at city council meetings
- issuing a press release to the media
- setting up meetings with local organizations
- educating faith-based practices
Specifically identify how social workers may participate in these activities. Be sure to address the following:
- How does your understanding of social, economic, and environmental justice help you advocate for clients in this activity?
- How will these activities advance social, economic, and environmental justice for clients?
Advocacy in Sociology
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Advocacy in Sociology
There are several types of injustices in society that led to inequalities among people. The major injustices include economic injustice, social injustice, and environmental injustice. Social workers are required to have an adequate understanding of these types of injustices to allow them to perform well in their responsibility of advocacy (Scourfield, 2021). Homeless people are some of the vulnerable populations that require active advocacy from social workers (Donaldson & Yentel, 2019). Understanding economic, social, and environmental injustices will allow social workers to understand how they contribute to homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. Once the connection is understood, the social workers can express themselves well regarding the problem and its solutions.
There are several activities that social workers can undertake to advocate for the homeless and the lack of affordable housing. The activities include a conversation with state officials, advocacy at city council meetings, issuing a press release to the media, holding meetings with local organizations, and educating faith-based practices (Benner et al., 2022). These activities can, in one way or the other, advance economic, social, and environmental justice for the affected populations. For instance, talking with state officials will make them enact some laws or policies that can promote justice for all workers (Donaldson & Yentel, 2019). The same is applicable when advocating at city councils. Issuing a press release provides the opportunity to point out, highlight, and enlighten the public about some of the ongoing economic, social, and environmental injustices. Justice can then prevail once those issues are exposed (Scourfield, 2021). Setting up a series of meetings with local organizations and educating faith-based practices can help provide solutions to vulnerable people (Benner et al., 2022). Therefore, all the identified advocacy activities are important to promote justice in society.
References
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Benner, K., Loeffler, D. N., & Pope, N. D. (2022). Social, economic, and environmental justice: Building social work practice skills. Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
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Donaldson, L. P., & Yentel, D. (2019). Affordable housing and housing policy responses to homelessness. Homelessness Prevention and Intervention in Social Work, 103-122. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03727-7_5
Scourfield, P. (2021). Using advocacy in social work practice: A guide for students and professionals. Routledge.