From Class Assignment to Organizing Your Neighborhood: One MSW Student’s Journey

ABSTRACT

This article documents how an MSW student in an introductory community practice course took her class assignment and over the course of two years revitalized, democratized, and transformed a sclerotic, corporate-run Home Owners Association (HOA). While the community analysis assignment required the student to interview six of her neighbors, the resulting increase in social capital in the neighborhood led, over the next two years, to the student being elected President of the HOA and organizing the community to win streetlights, clean up a polluted retention pond, create positive relations with city officials, and increase the social capital and collective efficacy of the neighborhood.

KEYWORDS:

• Community organizing
• MSW community practice course
• Home Owners Association
• community analysis
• macro practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).