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3. Social street work, a fully-fledged profession It first of all, let’s mark out the field of social street work, in order to get a better grasp of its particularities a international level. Admittedly, a really theoretical and universal frame in the matter does not exist. However, it can be confirmed that, here and there and at some given moments, social stakeholders have privileged an extra muros approach based on a strong ethic made of respect and tolerance for the benefit of the most excluded populations. For these stakeholders, it is essential to be as easily and simply accessible by a public consisting of children, youngsters and adults knowing difficult life conditions and multiple forms of exclusion. These stakeholders are therefore particularly well placed to observe the secondary effects of a certain type of globalisation in which the "non producers" are often left in the lurch. Through his proximity and his integration in the most excluded social backgrounds, the street worker remains the last link of the educational chain and social assistance, when all the other relevant authorities have failed. Social street work gives privilege to an innovating proximity approach where the public plays a predominant part in the action, both at the start (the demand) and during its unfolding (the accompaniment). Priority is given to prevention in general, to the reducing of risks and to remedying with a care for social wellbeing. Of course, social street work is marked by the diversity and the creativity of its approaches. It is therefore not always easy to describe this profession in a couple of sentences. And, above all, a too simplistic definition would leave us unsatisfied. We shall try nevertheless to have a clearer insight. In fact, there are everywhere in the world adults, professionals or not, who daily involve themselves in the street, the districts and the suburbs. And this, in order to bring to the excluded a perspective of social emancipation : assistance, accompaniment, education, support, lend a sympathetic ear, give information, comfort with a view towards social emancipation. Whether one calls them social street workers, educators and/or street entertainers, proximity workers, workers in open environment, detached workers or street workers, all of them regularly and resolutely commit themselves on the field in order to bring to youngsters and adults suffering from social discrimination, services of quality in which the human dimension, respect of the other person and confidence serve as cornerstone to the action. Three types of action Social street work exists more or less everywhere in the world, but often in small proportions. This work is multi-faceted. So that is definition would demand a separate publication of its own. Let’s however pick out several constants in the practices. Informal education, action centred on the life environment of the child, the youngster or the adult is essentially privileged through three types of action : - individual help - communal action - collective action Individual help To reply to the demands expressed by the target public, an accompaniment can be initiated. The latter has to be light, free of condemnation. It can only be conceived through a global approach and has to remain close to daily realities. This accompaniment is considered as a participating process with an educational character, aiming the emancipation and the autonomy of the public concerned. This participating process has for purpose to give or give back a position of a subject-actor in the full meaning of the term. The intervention is often of a general and multifaceted nature. It varies from lending a sympathetic ear to mediation, from survival to blossoming. Both possibilities and situations are immense. Consequently, the street worker has to be regularly, easily and without difficulty accessible by the public in its life environment. So is it that one talks about "district rounds", of "district presence", of "hanging about the zone", etc. Communal action The street worker cannot separate his interventions from the contexts in which he acts. For that reason he takes into account all the potential local actors liable to inter-act. In this way he takes part in the various dynamics created by — and with — the local community, whilst at the same time keeping his own specificity as full actor. The street worker will especially see to it that existing social networks of solidarity be maintained and/or new ones emerge. Through his action, the street worker becomes integrated in an environment in which he moves about. This way, all the actors get to know him as a reliable and trustworthy person, liable to give the community the necessary and useful tools for its good functioning. Thanks to the individual help given, the street worker comes up against many problems belonging to the private and individual life. Communal work strives precisely to re-translate this data into a public issue. In fact, the question is to transform certain recurrent problems experienced individually into collective problems, which will have to become real society preoccupations, and therefore will be introduced in the political agenda.
Collective action Collective action can constitute a front door, a passage, continuity or a result of global action. Be it for instance sport practice or cultural and artistic activities, these various supports permit to achieve the social-educational objectives aimed at. Concretely, street work leans on all sorts of activities, which are so many opportunities to build a common experience with as result an increase in confidence. The general public is sometimes surprised at this playful dimension. In fact, this type of action contributes to the implementation of one of the subtlest aspects of the methodology of street social work, which we call the "double bait". To begin with, the intervention by means of activities and meetings in the street seems without great contents and unimportant. However, after some time, when the problematic situation becomes apparent, the quality of the first contact will prove decisive to overcome the difficulty. This approach demands a real anticipation : everything is prepared beforehand so as to be efficient at the right moment. These different dimensions are not automatically present in all the practices of social street work. But very often, one way or the other, these three dimensions penetrate into each other, whilst prioritising one or the other aspect. 3.2. Street worker, a privileged witness… The street worker is a privileged witness of how an increasing number of outcasts are living. Therefore his mission is multipurpose : - mention the problems experienced - make public opinion and authorities aware - contribute to a better perception of the phenomena - and in so doing contribute to the creation of possible solutions to the causes of social delinquency. To be efficient, it is necessary for the street worker to be considered as a trustworthy reference, be it with his direct public, public opinion or the public authorities. To achieve this, he gains by getting to be identified clearly and by proving his social usefulness.
3.3. … but which is difficult to explain Right away, let’s admit the nearly pathological difficulty for street workers to define themselves. In fact, an important understatement (3) between street workers’ practices often considered remarkable and the way in which they account for them is noted. Above this discrepancy in the reporting on the nature of street work, two usual manners in which to describe the profession should be conceived anew. 1° The negative definition : one presents its specificity by denying to belong to the present majority currents, consisting in security, sanitary or technocratic policies; if this mode of definition has the merit to voice a more than ever necessary resistance, it asserts itself in a much too dependant manner with regard to what it aims to fight and falls down on contents. This is furthermore a specific particularity of the social field to define itself by what one is not, one talks indeed of non-merchant sector, of association without lucrative purpose, etc. 2° The thematic definition : one meets the difficulty of clarifying the concept by substituting to it priorities one knows are not sufficiently justified but which "have the merit of existing"; this is the case, apparently, of "themes" such as drug addiction, delinquency, school truancy, etc. which do not respect the diversity of actual situations and which are often "one war late" as compared to the real needs and urgencies. If the themes enjoy the advantage of being more visible and easy to grasp, one should nevertheless fear that their relative maladjustment to the necessities of the field will lead to a weakening or a loss of legitimacy of the actions which would not be an integral part of it; one also should fear the establishment of a too large gap between the official projects and the actions effectively undertaken.(4) The street worker is a general practitioner who stays tuned to all the problems of a population and an environment, whereas subsidies and programmes by themes are often very simplistic and uncomfortable. We must therefore try to improve these definitions by trying to find a wording -which does not takes the form of a continuous justification; - characteristic to the social street work sector, but stated in an affirmative manner; - allowing to make real choices; - referring to the "public mission" filled by the street workers; - consequently constructed in connection with the users.
One does not communicate towards public opinion and the press without reason. To communicate is not an end in itself, but a means to reach one’s aim. Several reasons, which may very well combine, incline to turn to the media : - make the specificity and usefulness of street work known and recognised by public opinion, but also by the target public of the street workers; - look for the assistance and the support of public authorities, sponsors, and private citizens, etc. by making oneself better known; - bring to the attention of public opinion and political authorities the specific problems encountered by the street workers to obtain their reaction (legal support, with regard to a project, …) - act directly on public opinion : for instance, a local press campaign can have as direct effect to improve the image of the youngsters among the inhabitants; - summon up public opinion in support of social links favouring communication and citizenship. "Granted that it is difficult to bring individuals to exteriorise, to free themselves from their immediate preoccupations and to reflect on the present and the future of the world. Collective incentives are lacking to reach this end. Now, most of the former communication, reflecting and consultation proceedings have vanished in favour of an individualism and a solitude often synonymous with anguish and neurosis "(5) This goes to say communication becomes consequently a priority for the street worker.
Visibility and discretion. Of course, street work cannot systematically and continuously be carried out under the eyes of public opinion and under focus of the news. As a rule, this profession is only efficient because it is exercised in privacy, at the interfaces and at the margin of what can easily be visualised. Trust, confidence and professional secrecy are the essential ingredients of any field practice. In fact, the public one is in touch with would hardly appreciate it if the street worker were not discreet enough, versus media star. It is necessary therefore to exercise a just proportioning between what is visible and what is not, between what is kept in confidence and what is called out, between isolation and the involvement of all in what all of us are concerned by. Remain true and sincere The instrumentation of the street worker and/or his public for media purposes is another big trap into which it is difficult not to fall. The media logic of absolute visibility, rapidity, sensationalism and victimisation is very remote from the logic of street work. A communication strategy, let’s be aware of it, is also and foremost a negotiation strategy. The actors of this negotiation must be conscious that everything is not acceptable and that it is sometimes necessary to stay in the shadow, rather than enter into a "media hit" which is counter productive with the objectives of social street work. This is the case, notably, when a journalist asks you if he can accompany you in your district rounds. There is a risk your public will feel put in an unwanted limelight and therefore will not appreciate this media intrusion. Therefore, a preliminary consists in warning your public, in explaining the meaning and the usefulness of the initiative and in asking for the agreement of the persons concerned. If you are interviewed, your public will only appreciate your intervention if you speak in its interest and remain true to your daily way of acting. Exaggerate, embellish, divulge confidences, even denigrate your target public, may have as a result to lose all at once the trust you had gained and which it took you such a long time to secure.
To communicate : this is not part of my profession ! It is also not advisable to centre the success and efficiency of social street work on its visibility. Certainly, it is in each street worker’s interest to explain his action clearly. But he does not necessarily have to undertake this fastidious and difficult exercise of calling out and arouse public testimony. In a team, the capabilities of a colleague may be put to use. In certain countries, groupings (federations, collectives, …) take this type of action in hand with a more striking effect owing to their important number of representatives. Social street work is a difficult, exhausting and underpaid profession. Those with a long experience are few in the profession. And since the capacities to communicate increase with the time, it is not without advantage to share work and experience between colleagues.
Communicate or act : must one chose ? To communicate is to act and every action sends information. It is therefore impossible "not to communicate", this is a well-known fact. Remains this essential question : what space and what time will one dedicate to communication strategies and actions ? The street worker’s reflex will be to give privilege to his daily field action. This action is as a rule so time-consuming that there is no other availability left. Before one makes choices, it is necessary to define which are the priorities. In passing, let us regret the situation in which a large number of street workers find themselves all the same compelled to dedicate a much too important time to make themselves known with the only purpose to survive. This reveals a blatant incoherence in certain society choices. 3.5. Political authority : only at short term ? Can one, without hesitation, oppose the temporal logic of the political world and that of the street workers ? No. For whereas the street worker inscribes his action within the long term with finalities which gain sense with time, this does not prevent him from pursuing aims at short term, by means of certain very specific projects. The political profession aims also, in its essence, long term finalities. The programme and the values of one or the other party are so many projects which will only be achieved in a more or less long period of time. The difficulty lies in the confusion made by some political authorities between the end and the means. Unfortunately, certain political representatives tend to privilege more and more their (re)elections through all sorts of self promoting tactics giving as argument the fact that "the end justifies the means", but at the same time forgetting that these means stray sometimes far away from their actual finalities. The cohabitation of politicians and street workers is therefore only possible on condition they are all respectful and conscience of each other’s finalities. Even if these finalities do not always tally. In order to gain in efficiency and really fight against the causes of social sufferings, the street worker needs to have as first partner the political officials. Together they will be able, within the limits of their means, to influence the train of events. This collaboration may take a much more institutional and well-targeted shape, notably through lobbying. Lobbying is a practice for the defence of corporate interests, very widespread in the commercial sector. Each sector, even each enterprise, has its own lobbying service in contact with the competent authorities. It is a fully-fledged profession but we are not taking it specifically in consideration here. This admitted, an efficient lobbying in the street work sector could be useful and is not necessarily incompatible with the non-commercial aspect of the sector. It is in the interest of politicians and street workers to stay in a kind of conflicting collaboration, where each one keeps to one’s place and function for the benefit of noble finalities, which is, let’s also admit it, more frequent than suspected.
(2) Several testimonies from journalists, youngters, field actors mentioned in this guide book are the responsability of their authors. As it happens, they will sometimes be contradictory, but we thought it intersting to compare ideas. |
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