Report Sample - Empowering Communities: Unveiling the Dynamics of Community Work and Social Impact

Community work is a concept that is yet to be unpacked by scholars in terms of its definition. In this paper, community work is defined as an unpaid service done by a group or person that is rendered to better a community. However, it is not to be confused with volunteer work, which is a service that is done based on willingness. Community work can be mandatory though still be free. Volunteer work is both free and not compulsory. Scholars have argued that within the community, work lies empowerment of the people and that this results in people’s power.

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To find the truth in that statement, it is important that the word community be brought into context so that there is a better understanding of what is being discussed in this paper. A community can be described as a group of people who either live within the same geographical location or engage in activities within the same setting and have a shared basic unit. A work environment is a community for the reason that it brings people together. When people live within the same geographical location, that setting is considered a community because they share the same social and physical unit (Oakes et al., 2019). Within a community, there is a certain amount of uniformity in the thinking patterns and, therefore, the behavioral patterns.

Community work is a search for people’s power. Depending on the nature of the work, it may improve the community in its physical appearance, and sometimes it engages the thinking patterns and behavior of the members of the community. The psychological aspect of the work is done through interactive sessions with members of the community to enable the mentors to engage with the psychology of the members of the community. Once this is done, the mentors are able to influence their behavior and therefore bring about change in the community. Aside from having a lasting positive impact on the community, it also enables the people in the program to improve and also discover skills, passions, and challenges that are not easily identifiable to the public. For example, if you are working every day at a homeless shelter, you will have a chance to unpack the stereotypes about why people are in that situation while also learning about the challenges that they face in getting off the streets. In regards to passions and skills, community workers engage with the members of the community, and they are able to spot such abilities and, where possible, nurture them and provide opportunities for growth and empowerment (Cavaye, 2019). Most of those people know about their abilities, but they lack the means to nurture them; therefore, they are not exposed to more opportunities and better platforms.

In regards to this, the workers are exposed to most of the struggles and injustices that community members face. They are, therefore, more likely to want to actively take part in pioneering changes in the legal arena, and this can be done by engaging with the community more intentionally to be able to rightly identify those specific challenges (Chong et al., 2020). Once that is done, they have to consider legal options as provided for in the law and then proceed to seek redress and change within the laws. The act will, in turn, have a tremendous impact on the community corporately and on people individually. It will encourage the formation of relationships with the people, and thus the journey to empowerment commences. Empowerment comes into action when the members are given aid, which encourages them to go out and seek better opportunities.

In Hong Kong, there is a community-based organization called Pathfinders, which aims to help domestic workers who become pregnant and have their work contracts unlawfully terminated by employers. Pathfinders help by assisting them with visa status, options for returning home, and adoption choices. As part of community service in this organization, clearly, it is not easy even for the workers, and it can take an emotional toll on someone. Having to work in these centers, they will have to interact with a lot of women and children who are desperate for such services. In this center, in order to help these women, there are a lot of processes that go into it because despite legal protection, once the pregnancy of the migrant domestic worker is discovered, they are pressured to leave or resign (Chong et al., 2020). Empowerment in this aspect may involve engaging with the community members first by encouraging them and offering to counsel them. Then after the people become responsive to that, the legal process begins.

The legal procedure first commences by seeking the actualization of human rights for the victims. Human rights are universally acknowledged rights that are accorded to people for the basic reason of being human. In most places, these rights are only on paper, and unless someone goes out and fights for them, they are not easily accorded to people (Chong et al., 2020). Therefore, in this case, the community workers go and seek the actualization of these rights to the individual, and then afterward, they pursue redress for these people. Here, they may seek compensation for any harm that may have befallen them during that time when they were still in service to them. During and after that entire process, the people get empowered and learn the value of fighting for their rights, and what is more, they grow closer together as a community and begin to set out in pursuance of different skills and passions of their choice.

Having to work and being part of the process in terms of finding them visas, a solution for permanent settlement, and even advice on adoption will give one a clear perspective on what is required for one to adopt a child and also what happens to the mothers after this process is over. So from this, there are a lot of opportunities to work with adoption agencies. One can also venture into counseling as a profession so as to better grasp how to talk and make the lives of these mothers bearable after giving their children up for adoption. In terms of the legal process that goes into all of this, a career in law is inevitable.

In South America, some programs are created to empower young minds and the community at large in terms of computer skills and ventures in small businesses. The native language of South America is Spanish and Portuguese; therefore, the program, through community work, gives the locals an opportunity to learn and understand English. Having computer skills in today’s life is essential and is a requirement for a huge percentage of the jobs being offered in the world today (Dhavaleshwar, 2016). Other than that, it makes life easier, seeing that almost everything is technological in our world today. Through community service, the workers get to spend a lot of time with these people and create relationships with them hence encouraging teamwork. Having to educate them on computer skills and also English is a task that requires patience and understanding, and it may end up inspiring other courses of action.

Most people, through community work, have had an opportunity to grow and discover skills that they did not know they had. So yes, community work has proved to be a path to people’s unrealized passions that have led to career development. It is really interesting because it also helps them grow on a personal level, which brings forth psychological and social empowerment. All these are elements that are key in the general uplifting of the community. For there to be community development, it has to start from an individual level. When other people see some members of the community getting empowered and rising in standards, the other members who were dormant get challenged to start a journey of discovery and empowerment courtesy of community work.

Social empowerment is the process of developing a sense of independence and self-confidence and acting individually and collectively to change social relationships. In relation to this, the community broadens its network and meets new and influential people. Being part of the community when working with others for a collective cause, individuals acquire a sense of worthiness. In a community, groups of people may or may not be spatially connected but who share common interests, concerns, or identities. The communities could be local, national, or international hence specific or broad interests (Oakes et al., 2019). Being in a setup like this will expose one to different ways of people’s lifestyle and their adaptation to various challenges. Not everyone is socially welcoming, but with this kind of exposure, one can ease up and work on their courage to be more open with the people around them.

Being in an environment such as a community, you will get to exchange feelings and ideas and also have an opportunity to learn from one another. The setting makes one learn and get a better understanding of people’s various personalities and how to handle everyone uniquely. With the exchanging of ideas and brainstorming, it is easier to come up with ways to improve people individually and the community at large. In the long run, the foundation of these relationships grows and ends up being connections for the future.

Psychological empowerment is a process whereby individuals can gain control over their lives, participation in the community, and a critical understanding of their environment. The process requires increased awareness and understanding of the factors which influence our lives. We become aware of the power dynamics at multiple levels in our lives. For example, becoming aware of being treated differently due to the color of one’s skin or how lack of resources in the community one lives in affects one’s well-being (Oakes et al., 2019). People then begin to develop specific skills for gaining control over their lives, such as advocating for themselves or working on coping techniques to respond to discrimination. To fully address all the factors that affect a person’s life, people’s actions should also be directed toward changing the conditions of oppression at multiple levels, such as conditions at home, at work, or in society. The changes can be complemented by an increase in the degree to which one has control over their aspects of life.

Psychological empowerment considers the role of the setting and the influences from external factors that impact the lives of people. For example, the Black Power Movement, which was in existence in the 1960s, and the Black Lives Matter Movement, which is presently ongoing, are responses to personal and societal oppression that most African Americans felt and feel like citizens of the United States. The social movements criticized the cultural norms of the time and challenged people to really think critically about how African Americans were being mistreated and abused on a daily basis (Dhavaleshwar, 2016). Despite the circumstances that brought the people of the African American community together, it is important to note that having the common factor made it easy for them to build each other up and feel emotionally safe and included as they participated in the movement. That aspect creates a better understanding of the environment hence helps one navigate and know the different aspects that need to be changed or worked on.