are a great place for people to be intermingled instead of segregated.It is obvious from looking at the issues concerning both groups of people that a giant schism has occurred between them. It may be that preconceived notions or biases have taken over the mindset of one or both factions. As a social worker, the first thing that should be addressed is that fact. Educating the two groups on the value of the other is a great place to start. Once the awareness process is begun, many other useful tools can also be implemented.The have community is made up of a large proportion of retired people. This can be seen as a potential resource for volunteer labour. The retirement community in Canada makes up most of our volunteer hours and saves the tax payers millions of dollars in social programming (MacLean, M., 2002, SW 416 Aging) Elderly persons are very capable and willing to facilitate social change and they are the proponent that has the time. A social worker may be involved in educating the elders on what the real issues of the mentally ill are in that community and be trained as volunteers working alongside the mentally ill. In doing this, the homelessness must first be addressed.We need to look at housing and income issues for the homeless first. It is not possible for anyone to spend the winter in Calgary on the streets, so appropriate housing must be negotiated, preferably right in the community. Many businessmen and large companies are willing to donate buildings that are suitable for this kind of undertaking, due to the fact that they are tax shelters for them. This takes some legwork and connections with the corporate public. Funding for the renovations and furnishing are available at the Government level, but private funds are always needed. Where do we get these private funds? This is an issue that the community could work together at. The mentally ill population is more than likely a very capable and willing work f...
