Have you ever wondered why some areas appear to be safe, clean, and filled with many varied businesses, while others appear run down and lined with only check-cashing centers, fast-food restaurants, and liquor stores? As a macro social worker, you often will see that communities thrive and falter due to the resources available. The ways in which society provides and allocates resources disproportionately benefits certain groups while harming others through lack of resources or displacement. All communities have strengths despite their challenges. Use of the strengths-based perspective helps you to identify the potential strengths of a community and how to advocate for its members to obtain the resources and services they need to be successful. To prepare: Identify characteristics that represent your community. Then, take a picture that represents these characteristics in your community. Note that your photo does not need to be literalit can be symbolic.
