Social policies can be termed as policies which are designed and established to deal with issues that are social in nature; these issues can range from racism to poverty in a given state. Study and research findings show that different and diverse countries have different forms of government that come up with and implement social policies (Alcock 2008). The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the different and diverse ways that I as a member of a given community can influence social policies. So as to be able to achieve this I will have to first identify the given policies, and then explain how I can be able to influence these policies. The policies that I will be looking at include the following;
- Child Poverty.
- Prioritizing social housing to families.
- Run education program on the dangers of misuse of alcohol and drugs.
- Providing free health care to all the elderly.
- Give council tax relief to poor families.
Child Poverty
In general poverty is and understood and perceived to mean poverty in relation to income and this is mostly found on data and information collected in the households. Although it is believed to be highly important to gather this information to the children it is basically considered not sufficient enough. This is because it can hide the challenges that the children face such as having their rights overlooked. For instance, a given household receiving a certain amount of income does not necessarily mean that the challenges that the children meet are all addressed. Therefore, it is highly vital that child poverty is put more into focus. This is because child poverty can last a lifetime. The policy is perceived to have been established in the early years of the twentieth century in many parts of the world especially in the third world countries (Lister 2004). The policy has a given drawback in that it is highly based on the assumption that through the increase of employment among citizens of a given state, this will eventually lead to reduction of poverty among the people.
One of the ways I might influence the given social policy as a member of the community would be through the formation of groups that can come up with strategies of empowering families to fight against child poverty. This can be done by joining such organizations as Red Cross and NSPCC that have the objective of helping to fight poverty in general globally.
Prioritizing Social Housing to Families with Children
The social work of dealing with families and children is believed to encompass a number of diverse activities. These activities are mostly aimed at making sure that children get to live with their families and in addition, they get to be provided with proper housing. In many of the countries it is perceive to be an issue that the government in place puts into account thus; the establishment of the social housing policy. Although over the years, there has been numerous debates and increasing concern on the social welfare of families, most families still go on to struggle to get a hold of such social services in general (Hafford-Letchfield 2009 ). In addition to this, the policy is also aimed at making sure that a given family stays intact; in that the children are not separated from their birth parents.
One of the ways that I can influence the policy is through ensuring that the set standard rules for opportunity are relayed to all areas that might not have knowledge of the set rules. This can be achieved by volunteering to work in many of the social agencies in relation to housing that have been set up in the region. This will in a way help to motivate the families and make them feel as part of the society regardless of their status.
Run Education Program on the Dangers of Misuse of Alcohol and Drugs
This is a policy which was established to deal with the basic welfare of all people in a given state. It is perceived to encompass a large number of issues that entail the daily life of human beings as a whole. Drinking of alcohol and smoking are the major aspects that have a lot of negative impacts on the people who abuse them. According to recent research and study findings in relation to smoking show that the Borough of Bexleyheath covering welling , Falcon wood Ethan have come up with a simple and highly clear policy on smoking; the policy states that it is highly vital to protect the health and wellbeing of the community by providing a smoking free environment . Moreover, the policy is focused on given issues such as where and when people smoke. For instance, a given situation, where employees who are on duty are forbidden to smoke regardless of the location and the time in comparison to people on the streets.
The policy on the education of the dangers of drugs is highly critical in any given community for it is a challenge that affects all people both in a direct way and in an indirect way. So as to be able influence this policy and make any adjustment I will conduct interview in the community to have the output, views, opinions, and how the community as whole feel about the current policy. Once, I have collected all the data from the interviews I will then approach the person in charge of the smoking council, acting as a member of the community as well as well community leader representing the community.
Providing Free Health Care to All the Elderly
Having impeccable health is believed to be a priority to any human being that is alive. Modernization of medicine in current years has been on the rise and this has helped in coming up with ways of prolonging life in general (Lister 2010). However, this is met with the downside that, most of the health facilities that have these types of resources are highly limited to people who are perceived to be well off in the society. Hence; this has prompted to the establishment of the policy that will ensure all people have access to health facilities regardless of their status and age.
The policy has led to the establishment of organizations that are aimed at providing medical care and attention even to people who might be in areas that are highly inaccessible. Moreover, in a situation where a country hosts refugees of civil war, they should be able to provide them with health facilities that will deal with health issues that they might face. As a member of the community, the ways that I can influence this policy is by doing a research study on the people in the community who do not get to enjoy the proper medical health care. From the information and data that I will have collected, I can forward it to the ministry of government that is related to health.
Give Council Tax Relief to Poor Families
According the human act every individual has a right to leave in shelter. There is the belief that large families in general are often overlooked hence; the establishment of the social family policy. Study findings show that, although, most of the governments have set legislations that try to maintain the aspects of the traditional family, these legislations do not look at the lifestyle of the families that are poor in general. The policy aims at improving the lifestyle of families by providing some form of tax relief to such families (Gilchrist 2003). According to research findings most of these families end up in the streets without any form of shelter to host them. There is the perception that some of the legislations that are put in place to look at this aspect often overlook that not all families are able to get adequate income to cater for all their basic needs. However, in recent years, debates have developed on ways of improving the policy so as to achieve the ultimate goal and objective of helping the perceived poor families.
One of the ways as a member of the community I can influence this policy is by volunteering in the shelters that are set up to host such families. In addition, setting up groups that can help the families understand how the tax relief works and how they can get them is another way of influencing the policy.
Some of the Agencies that a person might contact so as to have an impact or influence in a given policy might include; United Nations Organization and the International Red cross Society. The addresses are;
In conclusion, I believe that the goals and objectives of the social policies are to improve the basic day to day life of human beings in general. Although the social policies may have different variations depending on a given state, they are believed to all have the same desire of improving the welfare of human beings.