Identifying a project's greatest 'hits': meaningful use of Facebook in an underserved community's development and mobilisation effort

A community-wide effort to prioritise mobilisation, empowerment and capacity building offers a nearly unlimited opportunity to foster networked relationships using technology to connect adults and youth, neighbours and community partners, services and clients. As the emphasis of social work is on id...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social work practice 2019-04, Vol.33 (2), p.185-200
Main Authors: Brown, Mary Ellen, Dustman, Patricia A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capacity building approach
Community
community mobilisation
Community organising
Community organizing
digital communications
Empowerment
Mobilization
Neighborhoods
networked relationships
Networking
Occupational roles
Residents
Social environment
Social media
Social networks
Social work
Social workers
Technology
Underserved populations
Violence
Youth
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Summary:A community-wide effort to prioritise mobilisation, empowerment and capacity building offers a nearly unlimited opportunity to foster networked relationships using technology to connect adults and youth, neighbours and community partners, services and clients. As the emphasis of social work is on identifying strengths, finding specialised resources to enhance strengths or fill gaps and connecting community members representing a broad spectrum of social contexts, the role of social work is essential to successful use of digital networks to achieve maximum impact. This paper offers a description of the integration of current digital networking tools into a community-wide initiative to combat neighbourhood violence, encourage resident empowerment activities, and, thereby, improve the health and safety of all residents as a result of networked relationships. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the challenges and successes that emerged from the use of Facebook to inform and motivate community residents to participate in project-focused activities. Based on our findings and building off of previous literature, we offer recommendations in the form of the Community mobilisation through social media framework for social workers engaged in community organising and enhancement initiatives designed to use technology to initiate, foster and accelerate resident involvement for positive action.
ISSN:0265-0533
1465-3885
DOI:10.1080/02650533.2019.1597694