SOWK5590

SOWK

5590

EMPOWERING GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Prerequisite: Baccalaureate degree from accredited institution. This course is designed to provide MSW students with an understanding of direct social work practice with diverse groups and communities. The course helps students develop the skills of working with groups and communities experiencing poverty and marginalization in both rural and urban settings. Areas explored will include the impacts of concentrated poverty, economic, and job decline, such as substance abuse, violence, environmental degradation, and lack of adequate housing. Efforts of local community organizations working to combat these issues will be highlighted, including such programs as community gardens, community education programs, and other community engagement programs. A human rights, empowerment-based perspective is used to focus on solutions to these social problems.