NETWORK Pillars of strength? Family relationships can be very complex - and equipping a volunteer likely to become invoived in such a network can be a difficult task for many social workers. The problem is particularly exaggerated with the current emphasis on community care, argues Malcolm Payne in an article based on a forum organised by the Volunteer Centre. ne of the obstructions which puts social workers off involving volunteers in their work is the difficulty of introducing them into the family and social networks of their clients. ‘The process is so complicated and time consuming that it adds to the ‘can't-face-it’feeling of working with volunteers. Why is it 20 difficult? ‘One reason is that social workers are rarely closely involved in the eli- ents’ families and social networks. ‘Their contacts are mainly with eli cents, or a particular member of the family, such as the mother of a child in care. This means that a realistic assessment of what involvement in a family is likely to mean for a volun- teer cannot be made, because they are unware of the ins and outs of the family network. As a professional, the social worker has an official vis. tor’ role which is very different from the sorts of interpersonal relation- ships that a volunteer will probably be building up. ‘Another reason for the problem of introducing a volunteer into a family is the focus of many agencies and ser- vices. The aim is to provide a service to a person who has ‘problems. Seeing that person as part of a net- ‘work of others is supposed to be part of social work, but the agency's sys- tem often points away from it, by con- centrating on a person with ‘needs’ rather than a person in a network of ‘Strangely enough, the present con- centration on community care makes this problem worse. Community social work concentrates our minds on the option of promoting networks of care as an answer to clients’ prob- lems. Itoften fails, though, tomake it clear that the different networks of resources have a life of their own which affects how they may be used. This is especially true of families, ‘Most sets of family relationships have a history and a complexity which have very real meaningstothe participants, but which are very hard to penetrate if you are an outsider. There are old enmities, old friend- ships. Past events and experiences tie people together or push them apart. To come into this takes a good deal of learning from insiders who are willing to teach. Introducing the new boyfriend to relatives often requires a good deal of briefing on all sides about who is touchy about what, The same sort of briefing is required for a volunteer, but social workers are rarely well-enough informed to give it and family mem- bers often do not think of it Even local carers who know the family socially or as neighbours will not have the necessary involvement in a family to fit in easily. In fact their surface knowledge of the family may conceal prejudices or expecta- tions from the neighbourhood which ‘can limit their capacity to see the family anew as it sees itself. Sim- ilarly, a person who is involved in ‘work with a family because they are part ofa local network may have less commitment to dealing with the par- ticular problems of the client—— NETWORK {fepecialy if these are stigmatising) the family network, An elderly to hang on to Te gives the volunteer than someone who has volunteered to be involved with someone suffer- ing those particular problems. ‘The specialised volunteer may be less convenient and their involvement may produce less improvement. in community networks, but they may be more committed, prepared to Teara and willing to lose their assumptions.” Yet a strange volunteer is often part of the family network in ways that visiting professionals are not. ‘They may be present for much longer periods of time than the professional. Their relationships may well have a befriending, social involvement ele- ‘ment that does not exist in a social workericlient relationship. Crucially, also, volunteers often undertake a degree of personal and physical care which is alien to most Social workers, together with an extensive companion relationship which is alien to most nurses, This, the sort of very personal involvement in a relationship which is usually reserved to family members or at least close personal friends. Many families may not feel it acceptable to involve a stranger in such a relation. ship. Itis families that are supposed to-care in this way, with the help and. professional advice of people like doc- tors, nurses and social workers. A. non-professional, unpaid volunteer may be assumed not to have the knowledge, skill or personal commit. ment to doit Getting volunteers across the threshold of family life, then, needs @ sensitive approach and planning. Crises are not the time to put in a volunteer because the social worker does not have time to cope and the family is too disturbed to do so. The very disturbance which makes it hard to understand what is going on in relationships, and the lack of time implied by both the family’s need to deal with the crisis and that of the volunteer: both these things will make it hard to join the family ina realistically helpful way. Putting in a volunteer in a crisis is often responding not to the client's and their family’s crisis, but to that of the agency. What is the best way to approach involving a volunteer in a family? Firstly, the agency in its planning ‘and systems and the social worker ‘must recognise the importance and difficulty of involving a volunteer in woman and her caring daughter just cannot be expected to fall in with a standard respite care arrangement which requires a stranger to stay in their house, or a stay for the woman inastranger's house. Understanding is needed of the particular needs of both the carer and the elderly person and of the significant aspects of their relationship, ifthe volunteer isnot to ‘trespass on dangerous territory. Secondly, the volunteer must be well informed in general and in prac: tical ways about the needs and prob- lems they are to face, This may well require formal training and instruc- tion, providing written information ‘bout illnesses or handicaps the vol- ‘unter may come across and produc- ing guidelines for action in emergencies which might. be expected. Most usefully, experience with the same client group some. where else, where there is support from others and a broad range of experience, will build the volunteer's ‘confidence and skills in dealing with @ particular client. In turn, this will help the family accept the volunteer as someone with the knowledge and ability to help them. An example of this is where a volunteer helping a family care for a handicapped child, or relieving the family from full-time caring, can ‘work in a playgroup for handieapped children, or on a holiday scheme for them. Volunteers can move on to a ‘more individual relationship with a child and its family knowing they can cope, with skills and a breadth of ‘knowledge that supports them. ‘Another important preparation is to be absolutely clear about what is needed in a family, to define the tasks to be undertaken and to set up the boundaries of what is needed. It should be the family’s assessment of need which is relevant. Very often a professional thinks that this or that can be done by a volunteer, but the family may find it hard to let go, and could prefer another approach. In one case, for example, social workers introduced a volunteer to help with the care of a handicapped boy. The children who, she felt, had been neglected in the pressure of needing ‘o.are for their handicapped brother. Defining tasks and boundaries is particularly important in the early stages. Ithelpsa carer who has coped with everything for a long time to decide what to relinqui ‘Social Services Insight, October 18 — Octaber 25, 1986 the confidence of knowing that there is something that she or he can clearly do, and avoids feeling exploited or overburdened until they are sure they can cope. ‘Recognising the importance which may be given by a carer to their responsibility for caring is very important. Relatives may be made to feel inadequate for having to call someone else in. They may feel guilty about leaving someone who is their responsibility. They may be crit- icised by others. An important response to these feelings is to show that by giving them relief or support, they are able tocare for longer and to care much better. Recouping and hhusbanding their energies improves everything that they do. ‘Volunteers never have the respon- sibility which family members carry. ‘They are not actually part ofthe fam. ily. For them, it will not be a life- time's responsibility. Even if they take over total care for a period, the responsibility for allowing this and the burden of knowing that caring will always be needed, always rests within the family, Surface appearances Explicit communication is very help- ful, both in the early stages and throughout a volunteer's involve: ‘ment in afamily. Assumptions about what a volunteer or a family may be like based on surface appearances, can hinder a useful arrangement. Regular occasions for each side to talk over with the social worker any feelings about the other can ease many of the problems of sorting out a way of working usefully together. Sometimes the volunteer has a dif. forent way of dealing with a problem which is unacceptable to the family and this is an obstruction. On the other hand, the social worker may be able to help each learn from the other about new ways of doing things. In these ways,a partnership ean be created between a family needing extra help in caring, and volunteers wanting to offer something to others and an agency and social worker as an intermediary. The difficulties of receiving a caring volunteer into a family network do not go away, but they can be dealth with creatively as part ofa liaising process by everyone involved in the partnership. Malcolm Payne is assistant director of the Richmond Fellowship. 2