From ‘a coalition of despair’ to ‘a covenant of help’ in social work with families in distress

Abstract

This paper proposes new directions for thinking about necessary change in methods of the daily practice of social services with families living in deep and long-term poverty and social marginality in Israel and in the Western world in general. This call for change is based on the documented successes of special projects dealing with these families. The new lines of thought entail a change in the way social workers understand the client’s personal experiences and feelings, the way that professional inter-personal relationships are undertaken, and the organizational paradigms which determine the way the intervention is carried out. The current model of daily practice and the alternative model are exemplified by two case studies.