Rethinking Street Social Work: A Theoretical and Ethical Analysis of Outreach Practice

This article examines the ethical and methodological foundations of street social work as a form of outreach practice. Street social work is defined by a supply-oriented, low-threshold, and spatially sensitive approach, shaped by outreach, linkage, and advocacy functions. Rather than pursuing comprehensive change, it seeks to improve individuals’ living conditions within their existing physical and social environments. Accordingly, the quality of the relationship between social worker and client is as central as the intervention itself. Methodological features such as non-verbal communication, physical positioning, spatial awareness, relational equality, and continuity move the practice beyond technique, framing it as an ethical field of action that intersects with Kantian, utilitarian, and radical traditions in social work ethics. Street social work is therefore positioned not merely as an alternative to office-centred models, but as a holistic intervention that supports people exposed to social exclusion in line with human dignity, non-maleficence, respect for difference, the protection of human rights, and social justice. Ultimately, it should be understood not only as a field-specific practice tool, but also as an ethical necessity for advancing rights-based and socially inclusive social policies.