Overview
In late 19th-century Britain and the United States, industrialisation and urbanisation brought a surge in poverty, overcrowded housing and disease. Public relief under the Poor Law was punitive, and private charities worked separately, leading to duplication and gaps. Two voluntary movements arose in response: the Charity Organization Society (COS) and the settlement house movement. Both are regarded as starting points of professional social work.
The Charity Organization Society
- Founding: the society was founded in London in 1869; in the United States the Rev. Stephen H. Gurteen established the first COS in Buffalo in 1877.
- View of poverty: poverty was attributed mainly to idleness or moral failings, and the "deserving" poor were separated from the "undeserving". Indiscriminate charity was thought to breed dependency, reflecting the influence of Social Darwinism.
- Methods: registration and communication among charities prevented duplication, and middle-class volunteers known as friendly visitors visited poor households to investigate and give guidance.
- Legacy: systematic case investigation and records led to Mary Richmond's Social Diagnosis (1917) and laid the groundwork for casework and case management. Its coordinating role is also seen as a forerunner of community councils.
The settlement house movement
- Founding: in 1884 the Rev. Samuel Barnett opened the first settlement, Toynbee Hall, in London's East End. In the United States, Stanton Coit's Neighborhood Guild in New York (1886) and Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr's Hull House in Chicago (1889) are the best known.
- View of poverty: its causes were sought in the social environment, such as low wages, poor housing and lack of education.
- Methods (the 3Rs): university graduates and educated volunteers lived in poor neighbourhoods (Residence), studied residents' lives (Research) and campaigned for social Reform such as child labour laws, housing improvement and public health. They also ran adult education, childcare and clubs.
- Legacy: group activities developed into social group work, and resident organising and social action into community organisation and community practice. Settlements are also the prototype of today's community welfare centres.
Comparing the two movements
- Causes of poverty: the COS focused on the individual, the settlements on social structure and environment.
- Relationship: the COS involved middle-class visitors guiding the poor from above; the settlements aimed at horizontal relations as neighbours.
- Intervention: the COS stressed investigation, selection and individual help; the settlements stressed education, group activity, social reform and legislation.
- Ideology: the COS drew on Social Darwinism and self-help, the settlements on Christian socialism and progressivism.
Korea and present-day significance
In Korea, the Taiwha Women's Center, founded in Seoul in 1921 by the American Southern Methodist missionary M. D. Myers, is regarded as the first settlement-style programme and the origin of community welfare centres. Today's view that social work must combine micro-level help for individuals with macro-level change of the environment can be seen as a merger of both traditions. The growth of public responsibility continued in debates on public assistance and welfare state development.
References
- Addams, J. (1910). Twenty Years at Hull-House. New York: Macmillan.
- Richmond, M. E. (1917). Social Diagnosis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Woodroofe, K. (1962). From Charity to Social Work in England and the United States. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Lewis, J. (1995). The Voluntary Sector, the State and Social Work in Britain: The Charity Organisation Society/Family Welfare Association since 1869. Aldershot: Edward Elgar.