A Study On Community Relief Against Urban Poverty

The community relief is an important part of the social security system; furthermore, it is the basic part for implementation or practice of the above system. Its functions include protection, service and management based on the community. The robust development of community relief is in compliance with the transformation of China's social structure, in line with social and economic development on China's current stage and also in harmony with cultural tradition and moral conception stressed by China.At present, the community relief system being formed in China's urban community with functions as the extension of the government, systematically depends on the support of the government as a new institution and develops administrative services as a primary pattern of service. Therefore this community relief system is characterized by administrative system and the community (street) is located at the end of such system. The problems of this system remain that the cost of community relief system is too expensive; such system is lack of the capability to organize or operate resources, and projects of community relief are in low collaboration. Although these problems have certain connection with the specific defects of the current system and policies, fundamentally speaking, the problems can only be settled through the community relief system. The differences between the community relief system and the current system are that on the basis of the general goal and operation target of the current system, the community is empowered to constitute the supplement security projects and choose methods of operation according to the requirements of the community in order to promote all resources of the community to be concentrated and collocated, to form a cooperative system jointly participated in by the government, enterprises and non-governmental organizations, and to provide the aid for supplementary project on social security. The community relief system is characterized by the following three points: firstly, its operation depends on the non-profit organization; secondly, the object of relief includes all the material and spirit relief; thirdly, it is based on the system of self-governance of the community with high efficiency.The community relief system of lingyun Community in Xuhui District has developed into the initial stage, but has not been free from the defect of administrative relief system completely. As for operation of the formal system (namely a linkage between aid and employment), it faces with following problems including that income evaluation and qualification of relief subject are verified difficultly; the problems relate to the recessive employment of the person assisted and dependence of benefit and welfare in a long run. All those problems will necessarily occur in the development of administrative relief system to some extent. With respect to the informal system (namely supported by community), it develops with some function to some extent, but is still on the initial stage.Suggestions on how to improve the community relief system make as follows: firstly, the management system is to be improved: (1) to perfect the community relief system on the basis of the principle of"Focus Shift-Down"; (2) to strengthen the distinguishing system and development of welfare organization for communities and to perfect the minimum living guarantee and employment services; (3) to expand the capital channel of community relief. Secondly, the establishment of relief platform based on communities is to be advanced: (1) to improve the infrastructure of community relief; (2) to smooth the information channel of community relief; (3) to perfect the network management of community relief. Thirdly, the community relief system must be improved and the whole system is composed of the aid to impoverished subject, to medical treatment, to employment, to education and to the senior person. Fourthly, the organization of the team for community relief is to be continued: (1) to organize the professional relief team; (2) to improve the establishment of volunteer team; (3) to develop the charity in the communities; (4) to energetically bring the"Two New"organization into play its function of the social relief.