Introduction
The diversity and nature of roles pursued by social workers provide new opportunities for creativity. Social workers can take up the roles of organizers, managers, educators, or advocates. These professionals educate people to utilize resources adequately and minimize social problems. The article “Youths Revitalizing Main Street: A Case Study” therefore explores how a community-based organization uses various social work approaches to rebuild Aliquippa.
Key Players
The presented article outlines how several players come together to transform a distressed locality. The first player identified in the article is the Aliquippa Alliance for Unity and Development (AAUD). This organization engages different members of the community such as children to produce positive results. The youth from the next category of key players. The strengths-based perspective indicates that youths can be useful resources in every troubled community.
Local institutions such as schools played a positive role in transforming the targeted mill town. To achieve positive results, schools should be involved throughout the community revitalization process. The Green Team is another powerful program that targeted middle and high school children. The AUUD project also focused on the diverse needs of the elderly in Aliquippa.
According to the article, other players can offer their inputs whenever addressing various social problems. For instance, funders, politicians, parents, and school boards can present their resources in an attempt to revitalize more communities. Professionals in different aspects of social work collaborated to empower more youths. A school district and a local hospital were also interested in the targeted community.
Social Work Roles
The presented case study shows conclusively that different players undertake several social work roles. For example, the AAUD is an advocate because it focuses on the needs of different people in society. The organization targets and encourages more youths to embrace various responsibilities in an attempt to transform Aliquippa. The players go further to educate and encourage more youths to become competent gardeners, artists, and environmentalists.
Members of the society are key stakeholders who act as organizers. This is the case because they take up different roles such as art campaigns and programs. The community members of the society can also be categorized as beneficiaries of the programs implemented by the AAUD.
The other role in the article is that of managing. The targeted schools, principals, and alliance staff also act as managers. They influence policy implementations. By addressing the existing challenges, these stakeholders made it easier for the community to fulfill its needs.
How Social Work Roles Are Used
Advocacy can be used to outline the duties undertaken by the AAUD. This kind of social work role is used adequately in the case study. This is the case because the organization identifies specific players and resources that can be used to revitalize the community. Organizing is another social work role used in the case study. This social work role plays a significant role in coordinating and promoting various activities in Aliquippa. The players in the community encourage more people to focus on the best initiatives that can revitalize the town. This can be described as a form of facilitation.
Management is used to describe how different stakeholders and resources are controlled in an attempt to produce positive outcomes. The other social worker’s role is that of educating. The involved players teach the youths about art, environmental conservation, creativity, photography, urban gardening, and budgeting. Case management describes how the AAUD addresses the social gaps existing between the youths and the elderly citizens.