As social workers, our purpose is to promote the human well-being, and to advocate for people’s rights in society. Social work is a profession that gives individuals the opportunity to support and help those in need. Social workers help those who are vulnerable, oppressed by society, and victims of poverty or discrimination. Micro and macro-level theories are two different ways to help individuals, and they differ in their strategies and the type of population. In one hand, micro level covers people’s needs individually by applying therapy that help one person in specific. On the other hand, macro level instead of working with individuals, it focuses more on problems and situations that affect the entire population. It advocates for a social change that benefits society. Even though both levels are great in order to help people and the community, is it possible that one can be better than the other one?
A group of social workers argue that the social workers’ mission of achieving social justice is disappearing. Jacobson states that, “...its leadership role in innovative systems reform and social change work, has virtually disappeared” (2001:51). Jacobson
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Hull House was one of the first settlement houses founded in the United States by James Addams and Ellen Gates. They started this project to help individuals and provide better services. In the Hull House, they were helping not just the people that were living there, but the community as well. As they grew up, they were able to create more programs that involved the community. Abramovitz mentions that, “they provided community services, supported unions, and undertook vigorous crusades to remedy the social ills of the day” (1998:514). Settlement houses used the micro and macro level by helping people to find their individual strengths and the same time, improving the community