(2016) Science and education, 1, 28-31. Odessa.

Maryna Bodelan,
master of Social Pedagogy, senior lecturer, degree-seeking student,
Department of Social Work and Staff Management,
Odessa National Polytechnic University,
1, Shevchenko Avenue, Odesa, Ukraine

STREET SOCIAL WORK: ESSENCE AND SPECIFICITY

Street social work increases the efficiency of residential social care, provided for all categories of clients of social work by establishing special feedback. It contributes to rendering urgent medical aid and social preventive work in places of potential clients’ temporary residence. Its peculiarity is the absence of direct dependence between care assistance for clients and the necessity of engaging them in social institutions, which is the determinative for developing a good rapport between a client and a social worker. The carried out analysis of street social work specificity allows to interpret its essence, to characterize potential clients as well as street social workers. Street social work is considered as professional activities, oriented at supporting individuals and social groups in overcoming personal or social problems by establishing and maintaining contacts between them and social service workers, providing defense and rehabilitation outdoors. A client of social service is considered as an individual, who uses service of social organizations by interacting with social workers. A street social worker is a professional, who provides social, psychological and legal support and help outdoors for disadvantaged groups of society (retired people, refugees, orphans, etc.), as well as people in the state of psychological instability, caused by objective (wards, ecological catastrophes, international conflicts, religious disagreements) and subjective (problems in a family) factors, aiming for establishing contacts between social workers and target groups, potentially interested in such a kind of service.

social work, street social work, client of street social work, street social worker. 

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