The nature of social work

When Mary Stewart became the first paid Almoner at the Royal Free Hospital in London in 1895, it could be said to be one of the first attempts to introduce a degree of formality and organization to activity that has been present in society through the ages. This was caring for the community and protecting the vulnerable. Out of the rapidly changing social landscape of 19th Century Britain, where traditional care in the community was a mixture of charitable giving (the lady of the manor giving to the poor of the parish), a reliance on extended family support (much more entrenched due to the lack of mobility in traditional communities) and the slow emergence of political recognition of people’s right to a better quality of life including health care, housing, employment conditions, relief from poverty, education and social expectation—social work emerged.