Under Pressure

May 22, 2017

Under Pressure

 

 

Queen’s song Under Pressure came out in 1981, recorded in collaboration with David Bowie. It’s got a rhythm and words that echo the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. Remember these music and movie hits? Sort of dystopian nihilism, speaking a kind of truth about power and injustice:

 

It’s the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming ‘Let me out!’....
Pressure on people – people on streets.......

Thirty-five years later we could be screaming even louder for inequalities of income, homelessness, the cost of housing, polluted waterways and environmental threats to indigenous flora and fauna. There’s a long list of pressures on our quality of life.

And no ending to pressures on non-profit  organisations:

• funding shortfalls and contract compliance;
• a shortage of qualified paid staff, and a fall-off in volunteer numbers;
• a significant rise in demand for services;
• limitations on speaking out to government; and
• time pressures – deadlines to meet, reporting requirements, events to organise.

What is really coming into focus is the social disarray in our communities.

Government responses over the past month range from denial of a crisis in housing (“there has always been a homeless population”), or in mental health (“look, we’ve increased funding by 18% over the past few years”; and claiming that a community submission came from “left-wing anti-government protesters”). Two new government agencies established for ‘social investment’ and ‘vulnerable children’ look more like data-processing enterprises than innovative service providers.

Ambulance services need double-crewing of trained paramedics, as well as volunteer support. “Why on earth is such an essential service centred around the begging bowl?” asks one executive.  “Providing emergency help to seriously ill or injured people”, says a newspaper editorial, “is one of the core duties of the state”. The role of the state is a debate that is sorely needed.

When it comes to the environment the government recently redefined optimal water quality to gloss over the parlous state of our rivers and lakes. Our 100% Pure image went down the drain a long time ago.  No government department is more constrained than Conservation, to the extent that it relies on volunteers to protect wildlife and the environment.

So how can the non-profit sector push back against these pressures?

Those organisations providing services under government contracts are particularly constrained from speaking out. Social housing agencies, for example, are virtual servants of government. But if they are representing a community, or focused on a need for services then isn’t speaking out a fundamental tenet of democracy? ‘Shooting the messenger’ is political point-scoring of a dangerous kind, particularly in this election year. We need government agencies and communities to work together in true partnerships, not behind barriers of bureaucracy or prejudice.

Instead of following the trend to become models of modern business practice, non-profit organisations could be developing alternative models appropriate for their mission, in tune with the interests and needs of their community. That will mean being adaptable and inclusive, being solution-focused and not solution-limited, like putting boundaries on service provision.

Achieving this end will undoubtedly involve volunteers. And to involve volunteers will mean understanding the nature of volunteering and what it can offer, so their contribution can be properly appreciated. It will mean developing innovative recruitment strategies that indicate what volunteer work entails, why it is important and valued, and what can be gained in the process. Please, abandon notices that cry ‘Volunteers wanted, or needed’.

In a few weeks New Zealand will resound with National Volunteer Week, an opportunity to showcase what volunteers really do, to demonstrate to Government how volunteers are a force to reckon with, and most of all to celebrate and acknowledge the power of volunteering.

Take heart, take notice, and Live, Laugh, Share – Volunteer from June 18, helping to build stronger more vibrant communities. That is the push-back that will safeguard the work of organisations and the communities they serve.  

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