The present narrative describes the development of an experiential social work course designed to bridge the gap between micro and macro practice by using community-engaged scholarship strategies to address homelessness from a cause and case lens. As such, there is a critical need within social work education to impart the fundamental macro practice skills of the social work profession into field practice, the classroom, and the community to create a more equitable balance between clinical practice, policy practice, and advocacy. All social workers, regardless of practice area, work within the context of communities and organizations that are affected by the larger social environment and social policies ( Soska, Gutierrez, & Santiago 2016 Binder, 2007 Rodriquez, 2007). Contrary to frequent usage, macro social work is not ‘indirect practice’ ( Reisch, 2017). Integrating social services and social change has been of particular interest for grassroots social change movements, as participants have been consistently faced with the challenge of providing social services to communities while maintaining their identity as social change agents ( Moya, Stoesz, & Lusk, 2015). Despite this, connecting these two levels of intervention in theory and in practice has been a persistent challenge for the profession, and the perceived dichotomy between micro and macro practice continues to hinder the fluid integration of practice levels in generalist social work education ( Fogel, & Ersing, 2016 McBeath, 2016). Indeed, the dual approach of providing individual service and promoting social change is a defining characteristic of the social work profession, and undoubtedly shaped by the profession’s origins in grassroots community organizing. Social workers intervene on the micro level to promote the well-being of individuals, groups, and families, as well as the macro level to influence policy and address social injustices in the community, organizations, and broader society ( Burghardt, 2014 Reisch, 2017). In concert with the profession’s fundamental mission to enhance the well-being of all people and pursue social justice, social workers are trained to operate and foster change at multiple levels of practice. Research initiatives are needed to evaluate and test clinical and community work initiatives, including the use of photovoice methodology to address homelessness, while being responsive to community needs and challenges. A set of challenges and recommendations are also discussed. The narrative describes how students were effectively able to apply both micro- and macro-level skills learned in the classroom to an experiential learning environment while providing much-needed assistance to an underfunded community-based organization. MSW students enrolled in a macro-level course at the University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Health Sciences successfully partnered with the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, a grassroots community-based organization serving individuals experiencing homelessness. This paper outlines a successful bridge between the micro-macro divide in the form of community-engaged practice to address homelessness and social work education in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Despite this, scholarship has documented persistent challenges in the fluid integration between the domains of micro-level service provision and macro-level social change efforts in practice and academic programs. Research and scholarship efforts continue to promote the integration of micro and macro practice in social work practice and education.
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