Community
a group of people who have common characteristics
Community organizing
process by which community groups are helped to identify common problems or goals, mobilize resources, and develop and implement strategies for reaching their goals they have collectively set.
Community building
orientation to community that is strength based rather than based and stresses the identification, nurturing, and celebration of community assets.
Identify the assumptions of community organizing
- Communities of people can develop the capacity to deal with their own problems.
- People want to change and can change
- People should participate in making, adjusting, or controlling the major changes taking place in their communities.
- Changes in community living that are self-imposed or self developed have a meaning and permanence that imposed changes do not have.
- A “holistic approach” can deal successfully with problems with which a “fragmented approach” cannot cope.
- Democracy requires cooperative participation and action in the affairs of the community, and that the people must learn the skills that make this possible.
- Frequently communities of people need help in organizing to deal with their needs, just as many individuals require help in coping with their individual problems.
Describe Rothman’s three categories of community organizing
Locality development-most like community development and seeks community change through broad self-help participation from the local community.
Social planning-heavily task oriented, focused on rational-empirical problem solving, usually by an outside expert
Social action-is both task and process oriented. Concerned with increasing the community’s problem-solving ability and achieving concrete changes to redress imbalances of power and privilege between the oppressed or disadvantaged group and the larger society
Identify and describe the quadrants of Minkler’s community organization and community-building typology figure 9.1 page 260
Strengths based-
Needs based (vertical)-
Consensus-
Conflict (horizontal)-
Identify the steps to community organizing and community building
Recognizing the issue->
Gaining entry into the community->
organizing the people->
assessing the community->
determining the priorities and setting goals->
arriving at a solution and selecting intervention strategies->
implementing the plan->
evaluating the outcomes of the plan in action->
maintaining the outcomes of the community->
looping back
Define cultural competence
A developmental process defined as a set of values, principles, behaviors, attitudes, and policies that enable health professionals to work effectively across racial, ethnic and linguistically diverse populations
Identify the various levels or building blocks on community organizing. (Differentiate between the various assets within the primary building blocks)
Individual assets
Skills and abilities of residents
Individual businesses
Home-based enterprises
Personal income
Gifts of labeled (disabled) people
Organizational assets
Associations of businesses (eg chamber of
commerce)
Citizens’ associations (eg neighborhood
watch)
Cultural organization (eg old west end festival,
british club)
Communications organizations (eg
newspapers, tv, radio)
Religious organizations
Financial organizationsgatekeepers
those who control, both formally and informally, the political climate of a community
executive participants
core group who are committed to resolution of the concern
active participants
those who take part in most group activities
occasional participants
those who become involved on an irregular basis and usually only when major decisions are made
supporting participants
those who are seldom involved but help to swell the ranks of a program and may contribute in non-active ways or through financial contributions
