Views of poverty and “the poor”
How did Settlement Houses and Charity Organization Societies differ from each other?Please answer in terms of …
a. Views of poverty and “the poor”? i.e. explanations for why some live in poverty and others do not.
b. The sorts of activities social workers and social work organizations should engage in–i.e. what functions are primary to social workers and SW organizations, and what functions are secondary?
c. Are there some other ways these two models of social work differed?
d. In what ways were these “rival models” similar to one another?
Sample Solution
Both charity organizations and settlement houses provide value to the communities they serve. However, they work in very different ways. Settlement houses are intended to serve a community of individuals by offering a broad range of services, while charities raise funds for various causes and organizations. The biggest difference between a settlement house and a charity is in the treatment of individuals. The first American settlement houses formed in the early 20th century with the influx of immigrants to the United States. Charitable organizations existed centuries before settlement houses and social work. While some people are stuck in poverty due to unfavorable circumstances (such as differences in opportunities that stem from access to wealth), the majority of people are in the poverty cycle due to a culmination of various wrong financial decisions they make every day.
