Across the range of social care, health and welfare professions, it is essential that students and practitioners engage meaningfully with the communities and service users they work with. This book offers a timely and practical guide to the methods and skills related to forming and developing such partnerships.
Helping both aspiring and experienced practitioners to empower communities and service users, this book:
- Explores how the developing roles of communities and service users influence policy, services and practice
- Highlights the different ethical, power and boundary tensions when working with communities and service users and suggests ways to overcome them
- Provides examples, case studies, activities and useful resources which help illustrate ways and methods of empowering people and enabling their voices to be heard
An accessible and wide-ranging book, Engaging Communities and Service Users is a must have text for students and practitioners in social care, health and welfare.

Billie Oliver is Associate Professor in Integrated Children and Young People's Services at the University of the West of England, UK.

PART I: CONTEXT
1. Engaging with Communities and Service Users: Introduction and Definitions
2. The Policy Context
PART II: THEMES
3. Encouraging Association
4. Activating Citizenship
5. Releasing Capacity
6. Exploring Boundaries
PART III: METHODS
7. Supporting Engagement through Advocacy and Mentoring
8. Learning through Conversations
9. Evaluating Engagement and Participation
10. Emergent Landscapes.