Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

7.3Consumer-run programmes and organizations

Consumer-run programmes for destitute people offer consumers a sense of belonging and an opportunity for growth. Such programmes are empowering, offering staff and participants a wealth of information and experience, and showing participating consumers that they can function independently and with dignity. The empowerment engendered by these programmes goes beyond the staff to the people served. Such programs are often cost-effective and can provide an oversight or quality control function for the systems in which they operate (Van Tosh, 1988:4).

Because consumers have had personal experience in the service system, obtaining or trying to obtain services, when they put together their own service organization, they try hard to tailor the system to the client’s needs rather than the client’s needs to the system (Van Tosh, 1990:13). Flexibility is the key. It might mean allowing consumers the dignity to make mistakes. Instead of telling clients “no” or “we can’t do that here,” consumer-run programmes try to find creative ways to fulfill those needs.

In practice this might mean doing system advocacy, offering new types of services, or having to find specialized funding for something no one else offers.

According to Mowbray, Chamberlain, Jennings, & Reed, (1984:44), the key principles of consumer-operated organizations are as follows:

• 
  The service must provide help with needs as defined by clients.
  
• 
  Participation in the service must be completely voluntary.
  
• 
  Clients must be able to choose to participate in some aspects of the service without being required to participate in others.
  
• 
  Help is provided by the clients of the service to one another and may also be provided by others as selected by the clients. The ability to give help is seen as a human attribute and not something acquired by education or a professional degree.
  
• 
  The overall direction of the service, including responsibility for financial and policy decisions, lies in the hands of the service recipients.
  
• 
  The responsibility of the service is to the client, and not to relatives, other providers or funding agencies. Information about the client must not be transmitted to any other party without the consent of the client, and such information must be available to the client.
  

These principles demonstrate a great sensitivity to the issue of consumer control, an important issue for people who, while destitute, enjoyed no control over such basic decisions as where they were going to sleep, what they were going to eat, or when they could take a shower (Long & Van Tosh, 1988:7).

7.4Conclusion

Consumer-run organizations will face considerable barriers when entering the human services field. Many of these barriers are faced by all programmes for destitute persons, but they may be made even more difficult due to public scepticism concerning the ability of consumers to operate programmes. One of the most common difficulties is finding a location for consumer-run programmes in the face of resistance and stigma from the surrounding community. Communities do not want those “crazies” or “bums” in their neighbourhood. Unfortunately, the “not in my backyard” syndrome is still with us when it comes to people who are destitute. But when communities discover that former clients will be running the programme as well, community resistance may grow even stronger.

However, the potential benefits far outweigh the difficulties of implementation.

8Fostering helpers’ competencies in order to promote empowering “inside-out” missions

As helpers engage destitute people, mutual influencing takes place. Egan (1994:59) calls this a two-edged sword, adding: “It is not possible for helpers to avoid influencing their clients (or being influenced by them), any more than it is possible to eliminate social influence as a part of everyday life. We are constantly influencing one another in many different ways.”
Driscoll (1984: 5) puts this well, observing that the “obvious objective of helping is not merely to understand, but to benefit troubled persons”. The emphasis therefore falls on influence, and on the concepts, understanding, procedures and competencies used to generate changes. But the main point, according to Egan (1994:60), is that helpers can influence clients without robbing them of self responsibility (or dignity, or personhood).
How? By making sure that helpers adhere to and practise good values when engaging people in order to help them.

8.1Building competency on strong values

Values have always been important in the helping process (Bergin, 1991; Beutler & Bergan, 1991; Kerr & Erb, 1991; Wogan & Norcross, 1987). It is clear that the helpers’ values influence their clients’ values over the course of the helping process (and sometimes even vice versa) (Vachon & Agresti, 1992:511). As Egan (1994:49) indicates, values are not just ideals. “In the pragmatics of helping others, values are a set of criteria for making decisions. This is true of helpers and of clients as they grapple with problems and opportunities”.
Egan identifies five main groups of values that should be fostered when helpers engage destitute people from the inside-out:

8.1.1Pragmatism: whatever is ethical and works

Ethics and morals are considered to be very important in helping (Pope & Vasquez, 1991:47). For Egan (1994:49) an ethical and humane pragmatism can be expressed in a variety of ways:

1. 
   Maintaining a real life focus – The focus of helping must be placed on empowering the clients to manage their day to day lives more effectively.
   
2. 
   Staying flexible – The entire process of helping has to be adapted to the condition and needs of the client.
   
3. 
   Developing a bias towards action – “…acting, rather than merely talking about acting…” (1994:49).
   
4. 
   Doing only what is necessary.
   
5. 
   Being realistic – All problems cannot be “solved” and change doesn’t occur overnight.
   

8.1.2Competence: adding value

According to Egan (1994:51), studies show that competent helpers do help; they directly add value to the client’s own programme for constructive change and indirectly add value to the client’s life.
He considers that competence includes the following norms:

1. 
   Becoming good at helping
   
2. 
   Continuing to learn
   
3. 
   Practising what one preaches
   
4. 
   Being assertive. “If you are good at what you do, don’t apologize for it. Do it!” (1994: 51)
   
5. 
   Finding competence, not in behaviour, but in outcomes.
   

8.1.3Respect: valuing diversity and individuality

Egan (1994:51) defines respect as “a particular way of viewing oneself and others”, “as prizing people simply because they are human”. This obviously has a bearing on dignity. He proceeds to make a case for building respect on two foundations, namely:

8.1.3.1Understand and value diversity

Helpers differ from their clients in any number of ways. Therefore, understanding and valuing diversity is critical to effective helping.
Sue, Arrendondo and McDavis (1992:478-483) outlined the multi-cultural values, working knowledge and skills needed by helpers in three broad areas:

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  The helpers’ awareness of their own cultural values and biases
  
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  Their understanding of the world view of their clients
  
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  Their ability to use culturally appropriate intervention strategies.
  

8.1.3.2Understanding and valuing the individual

Helpers mostly interact with clients as individuals (from the inside-out). Therefore, the client’s specific expression of her culture, assumptions, beliefs, values etc. becomes important. Egan (1994:52) consequently develops a set of norms for the engagement of individual people:

1. 
   Do no harm
   
2. 
   Appreciate diversity (and learn from it)
   
3. 
   Treat clients as individuals
   
4. 
   Suspend critical judgement (help clients, don’t judge them)
   
5. 
   Make it clear that one is there for the client
   
6. 
   Be available
   
7. 
   Assume the client’s goodwill
   
8. 
   Be warm within reason
   
9. 
   Keep the client’s agenda in focus
   
10. 
    Help clients through their pain.
    

8.1.3.3Genuineness: beyond professionalism and phoniness

This concept refers to a set of attitudes and a set of behaviours. Genuine people are at home with themselves and therefore can comfortably be themselves in all interactions. According to Egan (1994:53), being genuine means doing some things, and not doing others:

1. 
   Do not overemphasize the helping role
   
2. 
   Be spontaneous
   
3. 
   Avoid defensiveness
   
4. 
   Be open.
   

In this respect Miller & Lin (1988:73-75) considers that “the social responsibilities of psychologists can best be discharged by learning how to help people to help themselves”.

8.1.3.4Clients’ self-responsibility: non-patronizing empowerment

Egan (1994:53), using insights from Farelly and Brandsma (1974), outlines a number of hypotheses in this regard:

1. 
   Start with the premise that clients can change if they choose to
   
2. 
   Help clients to see helping sessions as work sessions
   
3. 
   Help clients to discover and use their own resources (a strength–based attitude)
   
4. 
   Do not overrate the psychological fragility of clients
   
5. 
   Help clients turn self-dissatisfaction into a lever for change.