Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Página 8

Fundamentals of Social Work
Singaporeans. The programme design takes reference from the World
Health Organisation’s Active Ageing, Age-Friendly Cities and Age-Friendly
Primary Care Centre framework.
But what about community involvement in solving social problems? What
about using community collaborations to prevent crime, rather than relying
solely on a law enforcement approach? Or encouraging neighbours to
befriend vulnerable adults and communities to provide surveillance of atrisk families? The Singapore Police force has certainly had a strong history
in engaging the community for crime prevention with a lasting tagline or
reminder that low crime does not mean no crime.

The Concept of Community
What is a community? What one person calls a community may not match
another person’s definition. However, those interested in working with
a community must first have a clear picture of the entity they are trying
to address. It is quite common to hear reference to a geographical area
such as a township as a community and the cluster of blocks of flats in an
area as a micro-community. Understanding the dimensions of the concept
of community will enable those initiating engagement processes to better
target their efforts and work with community leaders and members in
developing appropriate engagement strategies.
There is also the sociological or systems perspective and a more personal,
individual perspective to community. Central to the definition of a community
is a sense of who is included and who is excluded from membership (IOM,
1995)3. A person may be a member of a community by choice, as with
voluntary associations, or by virtue of their innate personal characteristics,
such as age, gender, race, or ethnicity (IOM, 1995)3. An example is the
Retired Senior Volunteers Programme where seniors volunteer because
they are keen to serve society through giving of their time, expertise and
experience. Individuals can therefore belong to multiple communities at
any one time. When initiating community engagement efforts, one must be
aware of these complex associations in deciding which individuals to work
with in the targeted community.
From a sociological perspective, the notion of community refers to a group
of people united by at least one common characteristic. Such characteristics
3

Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. Assessing the social and behavioral
science base for HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention: workshop summary and background
papers.
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