Anti-poverty strategy: a reflective review of an anti-poverty organizing practicum with the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers

Abstract

The intention of this report is to serve as a reflective review of an eight-month part-time Master of Social Work field practicum, which I competed with the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (SASW) between the months of May and December 2009. My practicum activity drew from community development theory and was informed by a trend emerging across Canada towards the incorporation of anti-poverty strategies. I contributed to an organizing effort to draw together anti-poverty and social justice activists and organizations into a provincial network that has adopted the title Action for a Poverty Free Saskatchewan. The pages of this report outline the ideological and theoretical tenants that underpinned my work. I also reflect upon my fieldwork experiences through an evaluation of values, ethics, strategies, skills and future visions for my career and the profession of social work. I conclude that an anti-poverty strategy can assist in collective anti-poverty organizing.