<P> The concept of the Settlement house movement was to bring upper and middle class students into lower - class neighbourhoods, not only to provide education and social aid, but to actually live and work together with their inhabitants . This soon inspired a worldwide movement of university settlements . The idea was to help members of the future elite understand the problems of wider society; this was especially important at a time when class divisions were much stronger, social mobility was minimal, and the living conditions of the poor were completely unknown to many members of the upper class . </P> <P> The settlement movement focused on the causes of poverty through the "three Rs" - Research, Reform, and Residence . They provided a variety of services including educational, legal, and health services . These programs also advocated changes in social policy . Workers in the settlement movement immersed themselves in the culture of those they were helping . There were basic commonalities in the movement . These institutions were more concerned with societal causes for poverty, especially the changes that came with industrialization, rather than personal causes which their predecessors believed were the main reason for poverty . The settlement movement believed that social reform was best pursued and pushed for by private charities . </P> <P> The movement gave rise to many social policy initiatives and innovative ways of working to improve the conditions of the most excluded members of society . Participating universities settled students in slums to live and work alongside the poor local people . Settlement houses focused on education, savings, sports, and arts . The Poor Man's Lawyer service came about because a barrister volunteered his time and encouraged his friends to do the same . In general, the settlement movement, and settlement houses in particular, were "...a foundation for social work practice in this country". </P> <P> One important participant in the scheme was the philanthropist Charles Booth who published his study Life and Labour of the People in London in 1889 while working at Toynbee Hall . The study was the first systematic attempt at gathering comprehensive statistics and mapping poverty and influenced both social research and the fight against poverty for decades afterwards . </P>

History of social work in the united states