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Let’s look at Case Studies

An important component of the project involved collecting Case Studies for practical learning. We collected a total of 155 unique Case Studies through the individual interviews with community workers as part of the research. Here’s an example.

Community Worker Dave and Deepa’s Case Study: Stigma & Engagement

Community worker Dave faced difficulties getting community members to attend activities. According to Dave, “some of the members had mental health challenges. [They] were very, very shy to expose themselves […] Because some of the less nice members might call them names […] Some of the members that were chronically unemployed for any number of reasons felt very stigmatised that they weren’t working.”

Deepa, another community worker, also faced similar difficulties. In her work, she found that foreign spouses of Singaporeans faced many challenges. One of these challenges is a lack of financial resources, and they did not know what to do to solve this problem. Deepa invited them to join a conversation to discuss what they could do about their challenges together but was rejected.

According to Deepa, “there’s a lot of fear in them, fear and pride. So, the fear is if their family story is being shared, and if everyone comes to know about it, there’s a lot of shame. And with that shame, they find that they will not be able to face the community. And for them, community is very important, but they can only face a community with pride […] they shouldn’t face a community with a problem, especially as a woman […] They say that all these [negative] narratives [about foreign spouses of Singaporeans] can also spread to their home countries […] it will affect their own family back there, in terms of shame […] especially those with younger sisters (as it might affect their marriage prospects).”

Thinking Points

What were the reasons for the rejections faced by Dave and Deepa? Not everyone wants to be a part of the events or programmes you are inviting them to, and chances are, it isn’t personal. Rejections and continual iterations are part of the process to shift things based on what you co-create with the community.

What are some things that Dave and Deepa could do to build trusting relationships with their community members prior to inviting them to an activity or programme?

Who might be an individual in the community who can connect and invite these shy and stigmatised groups to Dave and Deepa’s events or programmes?

Email us at designcommunitywork@gmail.com to check out Community Work “How To” Guidebook with more case studies and thinking points.