TY - JOUR

T1 - Street level society

T2 - Social interventions into young people's drug taking in Copenhagen

AU - Vinum, Christine

AU - Nissen, Morten

PY - 2006

Y1 - 2006

N2 - This paper aims to reflect on research findings from different empirical studies of social work with young drug users and socially excluded young people in Copenhagen. In the paper we account for historical changes in social policy and interventions into young people's drug taking in Copenhagen, and we discuss some of the most central dilemmas in today's social work with young drug users. Among other things, we identify pervasive marginalizing dynamics in the social system that result partly from the deep-rooted cultural dichotomy between stigma and taboo that organizes the drug issue, and partly from the decentralizing and specializing efforts characteristic of the Danish welfare state and its institutions. We discuss a general turn towards street level interventions to address the problems of social exclusion, as well as different attempts to create what we term street level heterotopias - sites of alternate ordering - where issues of drug use and other social problems can be dealt with and objectified in more flexible ways and handled as part of ongoing social practices of everyday life.

AB - This paper aims to reflect on research findings from different empirical studies of social work with young drug users and socially excluded young people in Copenhagen. In the paper we account for historical changes in social policy and interventions into young people's drug taking in Copenhagen, and we discuss some of the most central dilemmas in today's social work with young drug users. Among other things, we identify pervasive marginalizing dynamics in the social system that result partly from the deep-rooted cultural dichotomy between stigma and taboo that organizes the drug issue, and partly from the decentralizing and specializing efforts characteristic of the Danish welfare state and its institutions. We discuss a general turn towards street level interventions to address the problems of social exclusion, as well as different attempts to create what we term street level heterotopias - sites of alternate ordering - where issues of drug use and other social problems can be dealt with and objectified in more flexible ways and handled as part of ongoing social practices of everyday life.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Socialt arbejde

KW - Stofmisbrug

KW - Praksis

KW - Praksisforskning

KW - Drugs

KW - Social work

M3 - Journal article

VL - 7

SP - ingen pag.

JO - Critical Social Work

JF - Critical Social Work

SN - 1543-9372

IS - 2

ER -