While reading Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets (Scales & Streeter), it reminded me of what I love about the rural area I'm from originally--Southeast Missouri, aka the "boot-heel." (FYI: I don't usually give a more exact location because many times I get the response, "Isn't Missouri somewhere in the Middle?") I am proud of being from the "show-me" state and have enjoyed remembering my community's strengths, opposed to what I didn't like. I never had a glimpse at formal social work until I was an adult, but I feel as if I have been surrounded by social work my entire life.Though there was a lack of formal services, typical of many rural areas, us country folk (a little bit of boot-heel vernacular for you) are very resourceful, we found ways to meet needs. Social interactions are typically rich in rural communities and SE Missouri is no exception. The concept of "neighboring" (yes, a verb!) was core to the community and served many purposes. To me, neighboring ranges from doing chores (for free), sharing garden produce, or offering other support during trying times.
While I was deployed, even though my mom had moved into a small town from the farm my parents used to own, neighboring continued. My mom displayed two blue stars for her deployed daughter (me) and son-in-law and yellow ribbons around the trees. As time went on, others followed suit, I was stationed far away, I believe that was support for my mom more than anything.
Informal resources (family, friends, neighbors, etc.) mentioned in my experiences above are not the only service-based resources; Netting, Kettner & McMurtry (1993), identify two other types: mediating and formal (qtd. in Hardcastle & Powers, 2004). In my experience, informal support is the first line of support and the most comfortable, getting informal support does not hold the stigma that formal services do. Additionally, sometimes as a coping mechanism, there can be a level of distrust of outsiders, whether they are a formal service-provider or not.
"Rural people rely on others--friends, relatives, clergy, the beautician, or even the mail carrier--much more extensively for information than they rely on formal resources such as agencies" (Scales & Streeter, 2004).Bogedas (grocery stores) in some communties can be an important informal resource that outsiders might overlook. Melvin Delgado (1996) lists what services bodegas provide:credit, banking, news/information, peer counseling, assistance with paperwork, referrals to services and cultural connectedness to home of origin (qtd. in Hardcastle & Powers, 2004).
Another type of service-based resource is mutual support. Its delivery method is "mediating;" it refers to the "...caring for others by virtue of their membership in the community" (HardCastle & Powers, 2004). Examples of mutual support include advocacy and support groups, faith-based organizations, and labor unions (HardCastle & Powers, 2004). In my experience mutual support is likely to be more easily received than strictly formal resources. Where I grew up there was a culture of civic participation that fueled mutual support.
For class, I watched Salt of the Earth (1954), which was written by people on Hollywood's blacklist. This movie, based on a Mexican-American miners' strike in New Mexico, shows the importance of informal and mutual support in a community, especially in making change. This clip below highlights the importance of all community members, especially of those traditionally left out of decision-making. Enjoy!
Fun Fact, Just in case you ever end up on jeopardy. ( ;
Missouri's nickname is in part derived from a quote by Congressman William Vandiver, who declared in 1889, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats. Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” I also find Missouri's nickname to show how much action and sincerity is valued.
Supporting the troops doesn't mean supporting the war.
The Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. is a non-partisan, non-political organization. We do not support any political candidate, nor do we endorse any religious organization. The military represents all aspects of America as does our organization.
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