Solidarity Not Charity: Organizing social services to promote empowerment

Homelessness has grown throughout America, rendering the former stereotypes about the homeless largely inaccurate and invalid. In addition to this, poverty has grown despite the country's wealth. As such, social services have become increasingly relevant to the lives of more and more Americans. Rather than serve as punishment and reminders of one's own personal failures, these services need to empower their clients. This is most likely to be done from a place of solidarity, a horizontal orientation that recognizes that economic positions are subject to change and that instead favors human rights and unity. From this review of the literature, I argue that service groups with an ethic of solidarity or a horizontal orientation honor the dignity of the clients, something that is more likely to inspire positive changes. In addition, I will use the case study of the non-hierarchical service organization Food Not Bombs to demonstrate the importance of respecting the dignity and inherent rights of the clients.