Settlement Movement
Introduction
Human beings by their nature are mindful of their brothers and sisters welfare. The
settlement movement was one of the reformist social movement aimed to help the less fortunate
people in society. The disconnect between the rich and the poor was high and the movement
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intended to help bridge the gap and elevate the lives of the poor. The paper therefore deliberates
on the settlement movement referencing to Chenoweth & McAuliffe (2015) in discussing the
relevance of the underpinning ideas that led to the development of human services in Australia.
Historical context
The settlement Movement began in the 1880s and its activities peaked around 1920s in
various countries such as US, England and in Australia (Baldry 2011). The major goal of this
social movement was to ensure that the poor and the rich live together in an interdependent
community. The major objectives of this movement were to come up with the settlement houses
in urban areas that both middle class volunteers and poor people lived (Chenoweth & McAuliffe
2012). This would see these groups of people share their culture, and knowledge with one
another in the quest to alleviate poverty among the low-income earners in these neighborhood.
The settlement houses offered various services to the inhabitants such as healthcare, education,
daycare, in quest to improve the lives of the people that lived in such areas. In Australia, the
concept of social work a component of human services gained momentum in the 1920s as first
professional social workers were hired to provide various human services. Commencement of
training of social worker in Australia began in 1940s at University of Sydney. Many more
schools adopted the American model in their training and theory. The concept of social worker
has expanded across Australia in providing various social services to the people.
Discussion
The idea of formation of this movement was relevant and contributed to the development
of human services currently experienced in Australia. By championing interdependent between
the poor and the rich, it provided an opportunity for the less fortunate to interact with the middle
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class. Sharing of knowledge and cultures is one of the ways that helped to elevate the living
standards of the poor (Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2010). If people from
low-income background intermingle with their counterpart from high-income level, they get
exposed to the ideas and are able to learn on how to come out of their poverty status. The
mindset of the poor is transformed and they begin to see things in different perspective. Being
poor do not mean that one cannot be able to achieve their dreams. A range of human services
provided in the Australia includes education, day care, rehabilitation services, accessibility to
education among others. These services are designed to help alleviate problems people face and
enhance quality of life of families, individuals and communities. These services are intended to
help the less fortunate and those in need. The government and other nonprofit making
organizations are the most active institutions that champion provision of these human services.
People in need in the society are many and if government does not step in, then many of them
will lead a miserable life. Interventions by providing services to these communities enable them
to access to schools and health centers helping them transform the lives of these people.
Human services are also intended to provide a platform to create harmony in the society.
The services need to be provided at all levels of the society without any form of discrimination.
Justice and equity are crucial when it come to provision of these services. The level of autonomy
of individuals, groups should be high to ensure that these systems are more efficient and
effective and therefore help in the advocating of positive social change within the society. Social
change need to cut across all the systems of the government including political, economic and
social strata (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2013). The movement and the champion
of the idea that resulted in the development of human resources saw a window of opportunity to
transform the society. Political differences and wrangles are sorted out if there is equity in the
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provision of these services. The aspect of racism between the indigenous and the non
indigenous communities is lessened through these systems if people can find a platform to
share and assist one another then, the level of coexistence and sense of belonging improves
(Rose & Thompson 2012). People united mostly cannot be divided and this helps to build a
strong society and political systems that is not torn apart across the lines of racism.
Development of social movement as well contributed to provision of human services that
have gone extra mile in enhancing social justice, and human rights in the society. People in
Australia have a right to access to fundamental basic needs and facilities. Social justice is
achieved if the less fortunate ones and the poor are given an opportunity to compete with that
from-privileged society(Rose & Thompson 2012). A child of a peasant has the right to go to
school to have equal chances in society. Therefore, offering these human services such as health
facilities, and education facilities to the people in one way help to achieve social justice (Green
& Baldry 2008). Social justice is also achieved if people from different ethnic groups are given
equal opportunities in the society. Provision of these human services therefore helped to ensure
that there was no discrimination across the society. Marginalization of some of the community is
also avoided and in this way, people have a feeling that they are all valued. The values of the
people and their perception about the country also improved (Prosser & Olson 2013).
In conclusion, it is therefore apparent that the Settlement movement was an idea that has
had positive impact on the society and the way people live in many parts of the world, Australia
included. Bringing people from different class and status in society was a noble idea that created
an opportunity for people to share their knowledge and their culture this as well helped people to
have a sense of belonging and to learn new aspects on life. The movement has as well played a
key role in provision of human services to people from various parts of the country. These
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services have provided a platform to unite people from different ethnic groups’ and race. It has
also helped to champion equity, justice and a sense of belonging hence transforming the way
people view and live with others. It is no doubt that the benefits accrued from the concept of
settlement movement has played a vital role in the society and will continue to impact positively
on the lives of the future generation.
Reference list
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2013, Australia’s welfare 2013: in brief Cat. no. AUS
175, AIHW, Canberra.
Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2010, Code of Ethics, Australian Association
of Social Workers, Canberra.
Baldry, E 2011, Studying for social work, London ; Thousand Oaks, Calif.
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Chenoweth, L & McAuliffe, D 2012, The road to social work and human service practice, 3rd
edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne.
Green, S & Baldry, E 2008, ‘Building Indigenous Australian Social Work’, Australian Social
Work, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 389-402.
Prosser, B, & Olson, R 2013, ‘Changes in professional human care work: The case of nurse
practitioners in Australia’, Health Sociology Review, Vol. 22(4), pp. 422-432.
Rose, V & Thompson, L 2012, ‘ Space, place and people: a community development approach to
mental health promotion in a disadvantaged community, Community Development
Journal., vol. 47, pp. 604-611.
