Organisation and delivery of social services in extreme events: Lessons from social work research on natural disasters

Based on a rapid review of social work research literature on natural disasters, this article offers an original synthesis of lessons about the nature and organisation of social services in the context of natural disasters. Drawing on social practice theory, existing intervention models are problematised, offering a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics between diverse types and levels of organisation, differing constituencies of disaster survivors, and differing environments in which they encounter. The paper also identifies elements of good organisational practice and sets an agenda for wider professional debate on the role of social work in international social development practice

Social work in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The article aims to provide a brief overview of the legacy of social welfare and social work within former Yugoslavia and how it was enacted and practised in Bosnia and Herzegovina (one of six states within it) as well as the key changes that followed during and after the 1992-1996 war in this country. The overview also highlights specific roles of both international organisations and local decision makers during and after the war and how it impacted both grassroots social work practice and the changing needs of people who use services – particularly the ever increasing experience of poverty and it’s various impacts. Within a complex and politicised governance structure, key issues for consideration of the future role for the profession are highlighted

Editorial: Social inclusion

No description supplie

Place, mobility and social support in refugee mental health

Purpose This review and theoretical analysis paper aims to bring together literatures of place, mobility, refugees and mental health to problematise the ways in which social support is practised on the ground and to rethink its possibilities. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on an interdisciplinary understanding of social support that focusses on the social networks and significant and intimate relationships that mitigate negative mental health and well-being outcomes. The authors explore the dialectic relationship between place and mobility in refugee experiences of social support. Findings The authors argue that, in an Euro-American context, practices of social support have historically been predicated on the idea of people-in-place. The figure of the refugee challenges the notion of a settled person in need of support and suggests that people are both in place and in motion at the same time. Conversely, attending to refugees’ biographies, lived experiences and everyday lives suggests that places and encounters of social support are varied and go beyond institutional spaces. Research limitations/implications The authors explore this dialectic of personhood as both in place and in motion and its implications for the theorisation, research and design of systems of social support for refugees. Originality/value This paper surfaces the dialectics of place and mobility for supporting refugee mental health from an interdisciplinary perspective

‘Known to services’ or ‘Known by professionals’: Relationality at the core of trauma-informed responses to extra-familial harm

Efforts to shift from criminal justice to welfare-based responses to exploitation and other forms of extra-familial risks and harms, have centred relational approaches. In particular, the role that relationships between professionals and young people can play in providing a sense of safety as well as a route to wider support services when young people come to harm beyond their families is under consideration. In parallel, trauma-informed practice is increasingly promoted as a tool for creating service conditions in which relational practice can thrive. In this paper we present data from an institutional ethnography of two social care organisations in the UK which are endeavouring to adopt trauma-informed responses to extra-familial risks and harms. We use observation, focus group, and case file data collected in two time periods, to illustrate a relationship we identified between the nature and source of knowledge that guided professional responses, the ability of professionals to form relationships with young people affected by extra-familial risks and harms, and the capacity for their organisations to be trauma-informed. In doing so we trouble an established discourse in many social care organisations, that young people subject to intervention are ‘known-to-services’ and call for more responses in which young people are ‘known-by-professionals’ who are supporting them. Far from being a matter of semantics, we discuss how these two ways of knowing about young people, and the situations they face, potentially facilitate or undermine key pillars of trauma-informed practice, and the relational approaches that make such practice possible

Social work for critical peace: A comparative approach to understanding social work and political conflict

This paper uses a case study approach to explore issues of social work policy and practice in three sites of political conflict in Europe: Northern Ireland; Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Cyprus. It begins with a review of the international literature on social work and political conflict and then discusses the strengths and limitations in engaging with comparative case study approaches. The authors explain how they view the writing of the paper as an intellectual encounter that helped establish the beginning stages of their comparative analysis. This starts with an analysis of the existing knowledge base about the three case studies that each share similar patterns of colonial histories, political and community conflict and the social work response. The second part of the paper extends this analysis to a critique of the impact of neo-liberal social and economic policies that often adversely impact upon the role of social workers in resolving conflict and building peace. The paper concludes with an appeal for social work to rediscover its rights-based role in working with victims and survivors of political conflict, what the authors describe as: ‘social work for critical peace’

Critical social work and extreme events

This chapter aims to cast a critical social work lens on the experiences of practice ‘in extremis’, such as violent political conflict, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on a critical reflection on the narrative literature reviews on each of these three types of extreme events and social work. The chapter explores several questions, namely: who is involved in the practice of social work, reflecting on the experiences and/or knowledge production on these extreme events; are they an insider, outsider or both in relation to these extreme events, and do they have the funding, space and voice to identify, define, explore and voice the injustices which critical social work practice needs to address in such contexts? The chapter stresses that social work knowledge spotlights oppression and discrimination experienced during such extreme events. It also problematises the current organisational and funding models for social justice social work in extremis

Madness’ after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina – challenging dominant understandings of distress

This article reports on the findings from a small-scale co-produced qualitative study on experiences of distress caused by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Inspired by the emerging interdisciplinary field of Mad Studies, the study is novel and unique in two ways. First, it prioritises social understanding and interpretation of madness and distress. Second, an emphasis is placed on experiential knowledge. Beyond interviews with twenty people who experienced distress due to political conflict, this included contextualisation of the study in the knowledge generated through survivor research and within the field of Mad Studies. Study findings highlight the social causes and consequences of distress caused by conflict, such as war-related violence, gender-based violence, experiences of poverty, and corruption. Participants stressed the importance of safety and support within their own home, mutual and supportive relationships with their families, friends, other people who experienced distress, the broader community, and opportunities to do everyday activities they enjoy. In terms of professional support, the findings suggest that poverty alleviation and protection of people’s right to self-determination through access to human rights advocacy and representation may be as relevant as non-coercive community-based services. This indicates that support for distress caused by political conflict need not be different from any other support for people who experience distress. Emphasis should be placed on survivor-run initiatives and non-coercive, community-based support which addresses social causes of distress and enables people to exercise self-determination