SHARP: A Framework for Addressing the Contexts of Poverty and Oppression
Many urban communities in the United States have experienced decades of systematic residential segregation, resulting in concentrated poverty and its associated consequences, such as violence, trauma, and hopelessness. Social workers and other human service providers often respond to the consequences of poverty and oppression while ignoring the oppression itself, in essence suggesting that the client is experiencing challenges because of individual or personal actions. The SHARP Framework is an anti-racist and anti-oppressive model, naming socioeducation (similar to psychoeducation) as part of the transformative process critical to reconstructing human services.
The SHARP Framework, consisting of five components (Structural Oppression, Historical Context, Analysis of Role, Reciprocity and Mutuality, and Power), intervenes at all system and organizational levels and during direct service with children, families, and communities. Previous interventions and evidence-based models fail to address the root causes of the initial reasons for families accessing human services - too often considering individuals' symptoms without the appropriate context. The SHARP Framework reimagines the purpose and mission of service delivery, recognizing the power of individuals, families, and communities and the significance of organizing to transform oppressive systems.
What is structural racism?
Structural racism is a “form of racism that is pervasively and deeply embedded in systems, laws, written or unwritten policies, and entrenched practices and beliefs that produce, condone, and perpetuate widespread unfair treatment and oppression of people of color, with adverse health consequences” (Braveman et al., 2022). The SHARP framework addresses the historical and enduring legacy structural racism has had on every aspect of the safety, stability, and well-being of Black and non-Black individuals and families of color.
Understanding structural racism moves the conversation and our approaches beyond the individual level of society (the way we view and engage ourselves and others) to the institutional and political levels of society (looking at how service organizations and large systems function to either perpetuate or reduce harm). Addressing structural racism as a root cause of poor social and health outcomes is where the most impactful change can be made.
Who can experience structural racism?
Although all people can experience trauma, socially engineered traumas (SET) are traumatic events such as foster care involvement, homelessness, community violence, etc., that are more likely to occur in Black and non-Black communities of color due to social forces of oppression and inequality that are related to racist policies and practices.
The SHARP Framework is an approach that can be used to address structural racism in all marginalized groups. But we focus on using this model with Black individuals, families, and communities due to the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness, the systemic denial of Black safety, humanity, dignity, and opportunity, from chattel slavery to Jim Crow laws, and current practices of police brutality and mass Black incarceration. A Black woman developed SHARP to support Black Communities. If Black oppression can be used as a model for harm, then Black liberation can be used as a model for healing.
How does structural racism impact people’s health?
Structural racism in Black and non-Black communities of color has tangible impacts on physical health during all life stages, such as an increased risk of death or premature birth of infants, higher rates of childhood asthma, higher rates of adolescent obesity, increased likelihood of cardiovascular disease in middle age, and increased rates of Alzheimer's in older adults. Beyond physical health disparities during every life stage, there is ongoing psychological harm that manifests in increased rates of depression, chronic stress, depression, PTSD, etc. Structural racism manifests in individuals and collectives carrying “shame and self-blame” because of messages that society and service providers send that they (and not structural issues) are the cause of their suffering. Community health is directly dependent on addressing structural racism.
Why do professionals need to address structural racism?
The SHARP Framework was initially developed in 2017 by Dr. Wendy Shaia, EdD., MSW in an attempt to understand why, despite programs spending large sums of money and professionals giving so much energy, a disproportionate amount of Black and non-Black families of color continued to struggle to meet basic needs such as housing, food, clothing and faced increased risk of negative consequences in the Child Welfare, Criminal Justice, Education, Health care and other systems. This problem persists today, so as those who work in child and family serving systems we must ask: does our work leave people better off, or do we need to change?
The impact of a lack of programs addressing the root cause of racism in social problems results in a burned-out workforce and a disempowered community. Whereas striving toward a transformational approach, focused on organizational and systemic level changes, allows us to envision and embody safe, stable, healthy, and actualized individuals, families, communities, and human service professionals.
“People are not poor because they lack programs and services. People are poor because they lack power.” - The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
SHARP Overview
The SHARP Framework uses a reflective process to support transformational change with families, communities, and systems. Service delivery is a pathway for individuals to organize and build their collective power, advocating for social justice.
Application of the five components of the SHARP Framework, Structural Oppression, Historical Context, Analysis of Role, Reciprocity and Mutuality, and Power, human service providers and systems can transform their work with clients on addressing both the root causes of poverty and their consequences. This framework encourages social workers and other service providers to remove themselves from the silos of being either a clinician OR a macro practitioner. In the same way we view human beings as whole and complex, we must begin viewing the solutions to society’s problems as vast, complex, and requiring new and innovative approaches. With that view, the human service worker is also whole and views the work with the complexity it deserves.
The SHARP framework has two main goals...
The first goal of SHARP is for the individual in the service relationship to develop a critical lens through which to view their situation and identify the structural and historical issues that have led them to the current situation. This helps reduce blame and shame for circumstances beyond individual control. With this approach, the person can experience a reduction in symptoms of internalized inferiority like shame and blame, negative self-image and beliefs, and hopelessness. This structural and historical context supports individuals in developing greater empathy for and connection to their family and other community members who have experienced and are facing similar barriers.
The second goal of SHARP is for the person to begin to recognize all the ways they have the power to impact their surroundings positively and to identify strategies for working collectively with others to address structural inequities. The SHARP Framework is rooted in an understanding of the mutually dependent nature of humanity and how we all have a role to play in maintaining or disrupting the status quo. This approach highlights the inherent strengths and gifts of the individual, the community, and the human service professional. SHARP is a lens through which both service providers and those they serve who have experienced structural racism can see, name, and make efforts toward addressing structural and historical racism.
“In the same way that we view human beings as whole and complex, we must begin viewing the solutions to society’s problems as wide, complex, and requiring new and innovative approaches. With that view, the social worker is also whole and views the work with the complexity it deserves.” - Dr. Wendy Shaia
Braveman, P. A., Arkin, E., Proctor, D., Kauh, T., & Holm, N. (2022). Systemic And Structural Racism: Definitions, Examples, Health Damages, And Approaches To Dismantling. Health affairs (Project Hope), 41(2), 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01394
Shaia, W. E. (2019). SHARP: A Framework for Addressing the Contexts of Poverty and Oppression During Service Provision in the United States. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 16(1), 16-.
Shaia, W.E., Avruch, D.O., Green, K., & Godsey, G.M. (2019). Socially-Engineered Trauma and a New Social Work Pedagogy: Socioeducation as a Critical Foundation of Social Work Practice. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 89, 238 - 263.
Training Objectives
*The SHARP Framework is an organizational and direct service model for anti-racism and anti-oppression. Pre-work pertaining to understanding and unpacking racism and oppression in the United States is strongly recommended prior to attending and participating in the SHARP Framework workshop series.
The SHARP Framework consists of 6 core training modules:
Introduction to the SHARP Framework
- Understanding and Applying the S in SHARP
- Understanding and Applying the H in SHARP
- Understanding and Applying the A in SHARP
- Understanding and Applying the R in SHARP
- Understanding and Applying the P in SHARP
Training Location:
Training locations depend upon the organization and agency interested in training. There are three main options:
- In-Person
- Virtual
- Hybrid (Combination of In-Person and Virtual)
Training Duration:
The total training for Modules 1 through 6 is 12 hours. The training can be completed in different ways:
- Two Full Days (In-Person, Virtual, and Hybrid)
- Three x Four Hour Days (Virtual Only)
Space in between training days/sessions allows for processing and reflecting, a critical element of the training structure. It is recommended that the training structure allows for space, for example, 2-Full Days, would be a week of separation between each day.
Training Cohort Size:
Each Cohort size consists of 25 participants, this number can vary, however, due to the training content and dialogue pertaining to anti-racism and anti-oppressive human service delivery, the smaller cohort allows for deeper conversation.
Training Participants:
The SHARP Framework is embedded at all levels of the organization and system. It is recommended for training cohorts to be constructed with participants in similar positions, starting with leadership, management, supervisory level, and frontline service workers.
Meet the Developer
Wendy is the developer of the SHARP framework. Wendy has more than 30 years' experience working in Human Services. She recalls often struggling with the deep and intractable issues children and families faced. But it was not until she attended a workshop, "Undoing Racism," that she realized what had been missing. After learning about the racialized history of Baltimore, a young woman shared with the other participants how this information helped her understand the multiple ways in which this history impacted her parents. She reflected on all the social workers she had encountered in foster care who led her to believe her parents were intrinsically flawed. As a result of this revelation, she stopped blaming her parents for all they had experienced. This experience was powerful for Wendy and reminded her of her favorite African proverb, "until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." As she reflected on the differences between the hunter's and lion's tales, she realized that the hunter's tale holds people personally responsible for everything that happens to them. However, the lion's account highlights the structural issues and barriers that create the challenges that often bring people to a service provider. Wendy hopes that the ability to train organizations and providers that a Community of Practice will develop in which people share and grow the SHARP framework, and new leaders and experts will emerge to continue this critical work.
Wendy Shaia, EdD