Summary: Organizational Analysis Regarding Social Justice

Organizational Analysis Regarding Social Justice Though working toward social justice is the pinnacle of the mission of social workers, not every organization employing social workers has social justice as its first priority. Luckily, many organizations that employ social workers in Richmond, Virginia value social justice as a major piece of their purposes. One such organization in Richmond is the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). The Richmond YWCA emulates a strong duty to social justice, evident in nearly all of its offered services and interactions with the Richmond community. Conceived in 1887, the Richmond YWCA has been able to accommodate a growing number of staff, clients, and community needs for more than one hundred

Each YWCA chapter may choose how they reflect the national YWCA’s mission “to empower women and eliminate racism”; the Richmond YWCA condensed their focus over the years based on community need (Fatima Smith, personal conversation, 9/28/2015). Though originally including physical health and fitness services, the Richmond YWCA eliminated these programs in 1996 (“YWCA of Richmond,” 2015). Because the local Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) already met the Richmond community’s need for health and fitness programming, the Richmond YWCA was free to narrow their mission and more specifically concentrate on the need for violence intervention and early education (Fatima Smith, personal conversation, 9/28/2015). Even though the YWCA’s programs have progressed and reformed over the years, they are still meeting these needs today. As mentioned earlier, distributive justice is reflected in each of the current services the YWCA offers; however, these services particularly align with the egalitarian perspective of distributive justice. Proposed in 1871 by John Rawls, supporters of the egalitarian perspective believe that every human being should have equal rights and equal access to resources (Van Soest, 2003). Inequality can exist in the egalitarian perspective, but only if inequalities work to the benefit of people with the least resources or access; according to the egalitarian perspective, these people should receive first priority when resources are distributed (Van Soest, 2003). The YWCA aims to align with the egalitarian perspective by offering services to any and all survivors who may need them. For example, the Regional Hospital Accompaniment Response Team (R-HART) handbook for the YWCA’s hospital accompaniment program contains a clause dictating that any survivor will be