Group Work Practice in Neighborhood Centers Today

Abstract

Much of group work practice originated in the settlements and neighborhood centers through the first half of the twentieth century. Club work, social action and adult education groups were the core community structures through which the people could get involved, provide leadership for and take control of their mostly immigrant or minority, disadvantaged communities. Group work, along with social action and adult education, dominated neighborhood centers through the mid-sixties. Then with the development of other action strategies, the loss of separate identity for group work within social work, the emphasis on other, individualistic helping strategies and methods, and many other factors, group work lost its centrality and its visibility in the centers and the larger social welfare service community. But group work is alive in many neighborhood centers throughout the U.S. It is not always conceived of in terms of social work services, nor is it evenly developed. It is a significant part of what many cente...