Eco-Disasters

This chapter seeks to encourage social workers to review their often (enforced) siloed roles in relation to communities of place and to develop stronger senses about the relationships and networks in places where those they serve actually live. The author offers a picture of force fields, system tensions which shape organizational and community life in particular ways, ways which diminish community life, and those who seek to serve community, and she provides examples from her practice experience in pre and post disaster environments. Where social workers can contribute to strengthening community networks, this will contribute to a quality of life for those they serve and then strengthen the capability of community responsiveness to a disaster. Seeing, valuing, and using these links may allow social workers to make subtle but important contributions to the field of emergency management.