The Social Work Movement

As the society developed and the industry grew tremendously, the needs of population and the areas of the two regions (the rural and the urban) expanded ferly quick. The social welfare suffered a lot of changes and transformation as well. There were so many new situations and problems to explore due to the immense need and, soon, it became more of a social duty, leaving the religious believes behind.
Involving more of a spiritual aspect...
Three social work movements emerge …….
Social work emerged in the United States during the Industrial Revolution in the mid late 1800’s, when the immigrant population increased (Day, 2009, p. 53). At the end of 19th century social work became a profession in terms of social structure. The nature of social work “was no longer a voluntary position but rather a valid occupation.” (Day, 2009) Social work’s efforts to remove itself as a profession away from religion and towards spirituality has resulted in the modern profession that values objective science, individualism, and acceptance and tolerance of diversity ( Dwyer, 2010). By entering the concept of spirituality, Dwyer (2010) sees the rise of spirituality within social work as related to “theory of reflexive modernization-life, politics, and sub-politics.” (p. 192)
Jane Addams, the Pioneer of Social Work in United States
The fast expansion in the Industrial Era, after the Civil War, produced a tremendous increase in the needs of the population.
Big concerns in regards to the economic depression, racism and immigration gave new directions to the new field of social work and new people with passion for striving to help others get involved. Some of these newcomers became recognized leaders in the social work
fields.
Jane Addams (1860 – 1935) and the Settlement House
Dedicated to her career, Jane Addams built a reputation of a powerful woman advocating for the same gender, social reformer and one of the most prominent social worker. Her work is reflected on the settlement house, international involvement in world peace, and her writing.
Jane Addams was born in Cedarville, Illinois in 1860. She was raised by her father and, later, by her stepmother. Jane Addams had a congenital spinal defect so she was not a vigorous person. Later in life, her spinal difficulty was remedied by surgery. Her father was politically involved and a leader, who served as a state senator for sixteen years. He also fought as an officer in the Civil War. He was a good friend with Abraham Lincoln. She graduated from the Rockford Female Seminary. After College, her health remained poor and she needs to be hospitalized multiple times. She traveled and studied in Europe for almost two years for the first time where she spent most of her time reading and writing. During her second tour to Europe in 1888, with her friend Ellen Gates Starr, they visited Toynbee Settlement Hall in London and helped them to finalize their idea of opening an American Settlement Hall.
The Settlement House she founded became the most famous American settlement although the first Settlement House in the United States was in New York City, where the Neighborhood Guild which was established in 1886. The Settlement House was located in a neighborhood populated by a variety of immigrants in Chicago. By its second year of existence, the Hull-House hosted a large number of people every week; almost 2.000. The services provided were diverse: kindergarten in the morning, adults programs in the afternoon, classes in the night for adults. They expanded rapidly and added new additions such as an art gallery, coffee house, swimming pool, art studio, music school, drama school, the first Little Theater in America, a circulating library and an employment bureau. The last addition was a Labor Museum.