| At the end of the 19 th century,the urban problems caused by the over-urbanization of the United States and the influx of immigrants hindered the further development of urbanization and seriously undermined the shaping of American urban culture.In order to clear the obstacles of progress and development,the Social Settlement Movement was introduced into the United States and began to flourish in the major cities.Lillian Wald and Mary Brewster co-founded the "Nurses’ Settlement" in New York in 1893,and renamed the settlement as "Henry Street Settlement" in 1895,which still exists today.Under the leadership of Wald,Henry Street Settlement has strict internal management,clear division of labor,and strict organization.Based on the Visiting Nurse Service,it was the banner of public health care in New York.However,due to the weakness in the early days,it is difficult to deal with the complicated situations in community services.Henry Street Settlement had transferred to focus on improving the spiritual world of the poor.In the early 20 th century,Henry Street Settlement achieved a good reputation for its outstanding contributions and began to participate in national institutional reform and expand its functions.With the main goal to defeat poverty,Henry Street Settlement in cooperation with the government,the National Child Labor Council and the Women’s Political Union,tried to satisfy the urgent needs of vulnerable groups,including children and women,and defend the rights for both.Henry Street Settlement reached its peak in the mid-1910 s and became one of the iconic settlements of the Social Settlement Movement.By the end of the 1910 s,Henry Street settlement had taken a sharp turn and got into dilemma.During World War I,the pacifist views of the Settlement were questioned and criticized by the public opinion,and the social function was limited to community service.The "Red Scare" of 1918 and the Great Depression of the 1930 s cut off the social support of the Settlement and made it difficult to operate.During the New Deal,the Settlements became part of welfare programs,completing the transformation from independent social organization to government-affiliated community services.Henry Street Settlement alleviates the urban problems,promotes the institutional reform of the rights and interests of vulnerable groups,and remedies the defects of excessive urbanization.However,the single source of funds,the loosely organized structure of the community departments and the excessive dependence on leaders have become the shackles restricting the further development of Henry Street Settlement.Henry Street Settlement is an important window to investigate the American urban development and the Social Settlement Movement in the 20 th century.The growing process of the Settlement from its establishment to its peak,and then to its return to community service is the transition process of social assistance from civil society to American government directed activity.Henry Street Settlement is the forerunner of community service,which makes a significant experiment for the cooperation mode between the government and the civil society in the field of social assistance,and provides reference for community work to be more professional and scientific.The study of the Henry Street Settlement examines the life scene of underclass and immigrants in American cities from the late 19 th century to the 1930 s,and reveals the disadvantages in the process of American urbanization,as well as the active participation and contribution of grassroots forces in solving urban problems. |
