Week 8 8020 Disc: Engaging Diverse Groups
ANSWER
By incorporating cultural and ability diversity in the multicultural community, there is an increased probability of responding to the disasters effectively and accessing relief and rehabilitation resources. Some examples of such minority groups may include the Hispanic immigrants planning to settle in the United States and the physically challenged persons. Some of the components of culture specific support that is required during a crisis includes: The culture of both male and female patients involves certain beliefs that need to be understood to offer them special support in event of a disaster.
Hispanic Immigrant Community:
In Hispanic immigration, dependency is solidly on ethnic family material solidarity, societal collectivism, and roots established in spiritual beliefs. All these cultural factors can be of vital importance in determining the response of these people to disastrous events. The cultural values highlighted above are a reflection of this community and it is important to deal with this community in a manner that respects their culture.
To engage effectively, social work disaster response leaders should:
Utilize Bilingual Communication: It is also important to make sure information reaches those who are less likely to understand English by availing it in their languages such as Spanish. These can be achieved through bilingual staff, translated documents, community and minority accommodations grasping the Hispanic community (National Association of Social Workers, 2015).
Leverage Trusted Community Leaders: The support from the local imams and other leaders, the community workers and the key informants all can make the process of gaining trust in the intervention and its objectives easier. These leaders can act as middlemen between the response teams and the community (see Morrow, 1999).
Culturally Relevant Support Services: Thus, indirectly encouraging services, which recognize and address cultural values, as well as accepting culturally related concerns through family-centred support systems and religious beliefs in counseling and supply delivery, might increase efficiency (Rodríguez et al., 2007).
Individuals with Physical Disabilities:
These individuals have special problems in the management of the disaster situation because of their physical limitations and access to appropriate equipment. These require special attention by highlighting their plight and working on the safety measures that should be observed in order to protect them.
To engage this group, social work disaster response leaders should:
Ensure Accessibility: All communication posts and all delivery or supply points must be completely compliant with the WAI [Web Accessibility Initiative] Levels A&WAA [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines]. This is touching on sections like Manoeuvrability in the physical domain which encompasses barriers and passages for wheel chair and other means of transport and information access which encompasses factors such as braille and sign language (Kailes & Enders, 2007).
Collaborate with Disability Advocacy Groups: Aiming at working with organizations for the disabled may help gain concrete information about the requirements and solutions to deal with this group. These organizations also can also assist in the process of outreach and in the identification of those people who may require such support (Tierney et al ., 2001).
Develop Individualized Plans: Caring for the needs of the unique individual in case they are affected by a disaster is a good way to planning for the disaster in advance. This might include making certain that they have all the medical needs they may require, career helpers, and consumers on signaling system (Smith & Notaro, 2009).
Therefore, in an attempt to engage with the diverse cultural and ability groups, one has to embrace cultural and capability competence. Whenever and wherever possible, bilingual communication should be employed; trusted community leaders should be involved in planning and execution; special care should be taken to make sure the message reaches all of the people that may be in need of it; and any and all advocacy groups, especially social work disaster response leaders, should cooperate and work together to come up with culturally acceptable plans and messages which are effective in reaching all of the members of the affected community. It doesn’t only helps in building up a good interpersonal relation with the other organization but also leads to the improvement in the results of the disaster recovery process.
References:
- Kailes, J. I., & Enders, A. (2007). Moving beyond “special needs”: A function-based framework for emergency management and planning. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 17(4), 230-237.
- Morrow, B. H. (1999). Identifying and mapping community vulnerability. Disasters, 23(1), 1-18.
- National Association of Social Workers. (2015). NASW standards for cultural competence in social work practice.
- Rodríguez, H., Trainor, J. E., & Quarantelli, E. L. (2007). Rising to the challenges of a catastrophe: The emergent and prosocial behavior following Hurricane Katrina. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604(1), 82-101.
- Smith, D. L., & Notaro, S. J. (2009). Personal emergency preparedness for people with disabilities from the 2006–2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Disability and Health Journal, 2(2), 86-94.
- Tierney, K. J., Lindell, M. K., & Perry, R. W. (2001). Facing the unexpected: Disaster preparedness and response in the United States. Joseph Henry Press.
QUESTION
First, identify two groups with diverse cultures and/or diverse abilities in your community. These groups may or may not be considered vulnerable in the absence of a crisis or disaster; however, in a crisis or disaster any group can become vulnerable. Knowing that different cultures react differently to crises, you as the social work disaster response leader would need to assess how these various cultural beliefs and practices might impact your work to help in recovery. So, hypothesize how you might engage these groups to discover how best to help
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