O-OPS, COFFEESHOPS & COMMUNITY * BILL'S COFFEESHOP ...



O-OPS, COFFEESHOPS & COMMUNITY * BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * VOL. 7 NO. 40 * OCT. 6, 2006

COFFEESHOPS ARE PART

SOCIAL WORK'S LEGACY

COMMUNITY coffeeshops like Wild Bill's in Iowa City, IA and the Red Rooster in Aberdeen, SD are based on ideas as old as social work. The profession began over a century ago -- largely around the idea that "all lives are connected to other lives" (Konopka, 1991, p. 29)

Jane Addams, one of social work's founding mothers, called for an integrated practice which acted out this principle of connection. She said social work should be committed to strengthening neighborhoods as well as strengthening individuals.

Addams and Florence Kelley started Hull House as a model to do this. Their idea was based on social work as "having a holistic rather than specialization approach, advocating for social reform while giving services, bridging groups and classes of people," writes Rolland F. Smith. It also included "having an orientation to family and neighborhood strengths rather than to individual pathologies" (1995, p. 2130).

Addams' idea of social work was a fairly radical notion when Hull House opened in 1889. It's at least as radical today in a society which is based on an exceptionally strong notion of individualism. In so many ways, modern American society has been built around segmenting the lives of people.

First, there is the separation between work and home. This is heightened by the increasing distances between one and the other.

Then there is the separation at work, where many jobs have become very specialized. From construction to social work, from education to manufacturing, jobs have been shifting away from generalist and towards specialist for more than a century (Cox, 1965).

Finally, there is the growing separation of neighborhoods by income. The growth of the suburbs (and the urban renewal of the cities) during the last 50 years has fueled this, resulting in isolation by income for so many families and individuals (Powell, 1998).

Even at the beginning of the 20th century, Addams saw this separation among people and neighborhoods. "The social organism has broken down through large districts of our great cities," she wrote (1965, p. 31).

Addams and the other women of Hull House tested many ideas for overcoming this separation and breakdown. The coffeehouse was among them, along with co-ops, labor unions, and community theater. These were approaches which, in the words of Cindy St. George, "accommodate individual and community interests under one common framework" (1997, p. 6).

Jane Addams envisioned the coffeehouse as a place where people could experience a sense of belonging and a sense of community. Everyone needs this, Ernesto Galarza said in a talk about social work education. Every person, even individuals with mental illness, chronic alcoholism or

otherwise "severely damaged" should have the chance to "take part in some type of social relationships" (1993, p. 17).

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Addams, Jane (1965) In Social Thought of Jane Addams. Edited by Christopher Lasch Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co.

Cox, Harvey (1965). Secular City. New York: Macmillan.

Galarza, Ernesto (1993). Social work education and the Chicano experience. San Jose Studies, 23 (Winter), 9-18.

Konopka, Gisela (1991). All lives are connected to other lives: The meaning of social group work. In Theory and Practice in Group Work. New

York: Haworth Press.

Powell, John A (1998). Overcoming the social engineering of the suburbs, Works: The Journal of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities). 1 (2), 29-30.

St. George, Cindy (1997). Mission of social work revisited. St. Paul, Minnesota: School of Social Work, College of St. Catherine/University of St. Thomas.

Smith, Rolland F (1995). Settlement houses and neighborhood centers. In Encyclopedia of Social Work. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

CO-OPS ARE ANOTHER WAY

TO BUILD COMMUNITY

COFFEESHOPS like Bill's and Red Rooster are one way to build community. Another model is the cooperative. Actually, some coffeeshops, such as the Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis, are

cooperatives, too.

Social work's founders also experimented with co-ops as a way to improve people's lives and build stronger communities. Addams and the others at Hull House joined with their neighbors to start several co-ops. One was an energy co-op which bought coal for heating in bulk. Another co-op provided housing for working women.

The cooperative idea still has great appeal. A new wave of co-op grocery stores has sprouted in the last 30 years. Towns from Minneapolis to Decorah and from Aberdeen to Iowa City have consumer co-op groceries. A new wave of housing co-ops has also started in many Midwest communities. These new cooperatives have sprung up alongside sturdy agricultural co-ops which have been in business for generations.

There are two basic types of co-ops. One type, called a consumer co-op, allows everyone who shops to be a member. Members elect a board to oversee the business. Profits from sales go to member-owners. The other type, a worker co-op, limits membership to those who work in the

business. A few co-ops have blended the two.

Co-ops and community coffeeshops are extensions of our democratic ideals. They extend the idea of democracy in the marketplace. They show the potential for neighborhoods, communities -- and even a world -- based on peace and justice for all.

WORKING TOGETHER, BUT

CONTINUING TO DEBATE

Creating and maintaining co-ops and community coffeeshops is hard work. One reason, of course, is that these institutions bring together people from many different walks of life. They share the goal of sustaining a coffeeshop or co-op, but they are likely to have widely varying ideas on how to do that.

A second reason is that few of us have experience with democracy in the marketplace. Most businesses we know operate on the principle that the "boss" is in charge and that's it.

Co-ops and community coffeeshops operate on the principle that everyone has a right to participate in decisionmaking. It's a fairly radical notion in a world of business dominated by chain stores and shopping malls.

Participatory decisionmaking isn't easy. It takes a lot of time and energy. And there is likely to be much debate and discussion, particularly at key moments in the life of a co-op or coffeeshop.

There is nothing like a financial crisis, for example, or an expansion plan, to turn up the heat of the debate.

But that's not something to be afraid of, or to try to squelch. Jane Addams said a number of times that the problem in our democracy is not that there's too much debate, but too little.

The best co-ops -- and longest-lasting ones -- have been those where members have been able to debate differences and successfully find common ground. This isn't something which can be forced or imposed.

It's also important to note that co-op members can have very different political and social views and still work together. Being part of a co-op doesn't mean giving up who you are. In fact, that may be a co-op's most important gift to a community: Cooperation is possible on a common goal despite great differences.

-- Tom Gilsenan

HUMOR FOR COFFEE

(& TEA) DRINKERS

Customer: Hey there's a fly in my coffee!

Barista: It's okay, there's no extra charge

Customer: Did you know there's a dead fly in my tea?

Barista: Yep, it's the hot water that kills them.

Customer: You're telling me there's a coffeeshop on the moon?

Barista: Yep, great lattes, but no atmosphere.

Customer: There's a fly in my coffee!

Barista: Keep it down or everyone will want one.

Barista: Tea or coffee?

Customer one: I'll have tea

Customer two: Tea for me, too, and be sure the cup is clean.

Barista prepares the drinks and then says: Which one of you wanted a

clean cup?

Customer: There's a fly in my coffee?

Barista: That's not possible, the cook used them all in the raisin

muffins.

____________________________

Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is inspired by the life and spirit of Bill Sackter, for whom Bill's Coffeeshop in Iowa City is named. A project of the UI School of Social Work, the coffeeshop has been a part of campus life at the University of Iowa for more than 30 years. Tony Grego, an MSW student, is the current coffeeshop manager. Tom Gilsenan, a former coffeeshop manager, edits this Newsletter. Opinions expressed in the Newsletter are those of the writers and should not be

construed as representing the School of Social Work or the University of Iowa. A file of back issues can be found at this website: uiowa.edu/~socialwk/bills/newsletter.

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