Making the Links

Résumé du livre

Social Services Departments need to recognize that Britain is a multi-racial society and that ethnic minorities may differ from the majority population in lifestyles, family patterns, religious beliefs, and attitudes towards asking for and receiving help. Services must be adapted to meet different needs: the provision of the same service for all is not the same as providing equal and equally appropriate social services for all sections of society. This report is an account of a workshop aimed at practitioners in the social services and members of refugee communities. Workers and representatives from Vietnamese, Polish, Iranian and British communities were involved in planning the discussions with the Leeds Department of Social Services. The detailed report was produced for the following reasons: there is an increasing interest in anti-racist training that can help social workers to operate in a multi-racial society, but little published material is available; the liaison between a social services department and community groups was important in creating an atmosphere where an exchange of learning could take place; the account may provide a helpful model for small refugee groups outside London who need to make links with social services departments.