Social Work History

The history of social work as a profession isn’t as lengthy as some other professions. This newer helping profession has only been around since the 1800s. At first, social work was predominantly the result of religious people whose goal was to help people meet their basic needs. These helpful groups, with time, turned into larger organizations. We now call these larger organizations the social welfare organizations or charity organizations. After years had gone by and more of these organizations were formed and they began working together with similar goals in mind. Soon came settlement houses that helped those who were unable to live on their own and unable to provide for themselves. In the settlement houses, the workers were typically the daughters of the local clergy who mostly came from middle class or upper class lifestyles. Many of these women weren’t often, if ever, exposed to this level of extreme poverty. Once the visitors arrived at the settlement houses Zastrow (2010) explains, “They sought to improve housing, health, and living conditions; find jobs; teach English, hygiene, and occupational skills; and change environmental surroundings through cooperative efforts” (p. 2). All of the workers in the settlement houses were crucial to helping the visitors learn a strong work ethic and the keys to …show more content…
She is also a winner of the Noble Peace Prize. She is known for paving the way of the social work profession. She was an activist, an educator, a negotiator and initiator, a coordinator, mediator and advocate. Addams also empowered people and worked toward a better distribution of resources and power for all groups in society. According to Zastrow (2010), “This focus on equity and social justice is a hallmark of the social work profession, as evidenced through the early settlement workers such as Jane Addams” (p.