Basic Introduction to Community Work - Central

Section 8 – Working with Individuals and Groups
Community Work is all about bringing people together for the
common good, but this is sometimes more difficult than imagined, as
we have to meet the access needs of everyone in a diverse
community.
When the community worker works with groups they also have to
work with individuals. The group maybe meeting for a specific reason
such as housing issues, leisure activity, etc. However, the individual
members may not have the same skills and experience as one
another to take this forward therefore, some may require additional
support. Others may have more personal issues that prevent them
from fully participating, issues such as low confidence and self
esteem, literacy’s, addictions, etc.
Although all community workers are trained to the same standards,
once they enter the working environment they are often divided into
two areas of work, which are:
• The generic worker
• The specialist worker
The generic worker works with any group, looking at any issue to
identify the group’s needs and wants, and to develop the group as a
whole.
On the other hand, the specialist worker works mainly with the
individual to address their issues and identify their needs and wants.
This can often take the form of adult education and youth work,
where the specialist worker works with individuals in a group setting,
which is mainly down to financial restraints.
It is important that both sets of workers are clear of their initial role as
both roles can occasionally overlap and become one of the
occupations grey areas.
For the purpose of this course we will discuss working with groups
and group work activities that concentrate on the group and
community needs.
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