Roles of Organizers and Champions in Building Campus—Community Prevention Partnerships

Objective: A campus—community partnership can be an effective vehicle for launching environmental strategies to prevent college alcohol-related problems. In this study, the authors' primary aim was identifying key factors that facilitate or impede colleges' efforts to build campus—community partnerships. Participants and Methods: From fall 2004 to summer 2006, administrators at five 4-year colleges participated in a multisite case study. Level of partnership development was the primary outcome. Results: Three interrelated factors facilitated higher-developed partnerships: college staff assigned to facilitate the partnerships who worked as community organizers, higherlevel college administrators who served as aggressive champions, and community initiation of the partnership. The authors did not observe this trio of factors among the less-developed partnerships. A lack of administrative support made it more difficult for a champion to emerge, a college administrator who staunchly advocated for a campus—community partnership, and for those assigned to facilitate the partnership to carry out their work. Conclusions: Colleges should appoint higher-level administrators to serve as champions, while also ensuring that those assigned to facilitate a partnership can apply community organizing skills.     

Challenges and Dilemmas in Community Development

Abstract

When community development begins in low-income communities, involving residents in revitalization activities frequently falters. The community is often excluded from development decisions and may feel betrayed as its input is ignored. This paper presents the dilemmas that arose when a Community Development Corporation (CDC) began building two units of affordable housing and received 80 applications. Suggestions for addressing the dilemmas and the implications for community practice rely on integrating grassroots community organizing throughout the development process while engaging in an ethnically sensitive, empowerment-oriented approach using coalitions and interagency collaboration.     

Place Attachment and Community Development

ABSTRACT

Place attachment is a multidimensional concept about bonds people have for the places with which they interact. We are intrigued by its implications and potential influences on community development, particularly when explored from a community-oriented view. We use the case of Sunnyslope (a place within the Phoenix, Arizona municipal boundary) and a community development assessment conducted with stakeholders there. This community has survived through the decades, despite being subsumed into one of the largest cities in the United States. From 27 stakeholder interviews, we uncovered deep attachments to Sunnyslope that appear to have an interaction effect with social community capacity.     

Assessing the Effectiveness of a Capacity Building Intervention in Empowering Hard-to-Reach Communities

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on hard-to-reach communities with weak histories of engagement and it explores whether facilitated community interventions can empower and develop community resilience. Drawing on data from 6 communities, the article indicates a need for tailored and context-specific support that matches local needs. Implementation of community projects is not linear and the delivery of interventions in hard-to-reach communities is associated with the risk of failure. Developing community resilience among communities that do not engage requires long-term interventions, on-going input, and a collaborative approach to working with communities to support equal and harmonized development.     

Recruiting Participants for Community Practice Interventions

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on recruiting participants for community practice interventions. We begin by presenting a case study of the recruitment methods used in a community-based development effort in the southeastern United States. In the next sections, we review some key issues in recruitment as discussed in the community practice and social movement literatures, and use them to reflect upon the case study. In the final section, we try to make social movement theory more accessible to community practitioners by developing a set of principles for use in recruitment.     

Putting ‘glamour’ back into practice thinking: Implications for social and community development work

Abstract

There have been many calls for social work to renew its commitment to practice. This article argues for an old-fashioned, yet curiously postmodern social work practice, based on integrative thinking. Integrative thinking and inquiry are defined and grounded on the premises of reflexive thinking, practice wisdom and humanistic thinking. Characteristics of integrative thinking are discussed. Principles for its application to rural practice and community development work are offered.     

Adult Literacy Education and Community Development

SUMMARY

This article responds to the concern that low-literate community residents often are marginalized in community development processes. They are unable to give voice to their concerns, interests and their vision for their community. Perspectives and approaches in the fields of adult literacy education and community development are explored to determine how adult literacy education might be used to further the goals of community development. While there are parallels between these two disciplines, there are also barriers to overcome if an integrated approach to dealing with community issues is realized. This article reflects an interest in advancing a comprehensive approach to community development in communities with limited economic resources, low-level literacy and limited access. It seeks to address the issue of whether adult literacy education programs have a meaningful role to play in community development. The strengths of participatory approaches such as community-based literacy, and community development principles such as collective action, shared values, participation, social justice, political awareness and action, comprehensiveness, empowerment, and learning and reflection, facilitate an interdisciplinary approach.     

Neighborhood Games as a Community-Building Strategy

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the use of neighborhood games and contests as an alternative approach to community building, and as a complement to traditional issue or interest organizing. It places these activities within the broader contexts of celebration and festivity, noting the relative lack of such events within modern American secular culture. The planning, implementation, and results of two neighborhood-wide games and contests are then described, as carried out in a representative suburban neighborhood. Though full and accurate evaluation is challenging, the community-building promise of these activities is documented. The prospects for future development and use of similar community events are then considered.     

The Social Work Outreach Service Within a School of Social Work

ABSTRACT

This article describes a unique community outreach service that is designed specifically to meet the needs of the local community, provide training ground for social work students, and experiment with the development of new practice models. Located within a school of social work, the service was born in an atmosphere in which both the university and the school were being called upon to play a greater part in the community. Since its inception in 1992, it has successfully served the local community through direct service, community organization activities, and consultation. Despite these successes in outreach to the community, internal challenges continue to exist.     

Blee,K. M., Democracy in the Making: How Activist Groups

Summary

The paper presents a brief history, context, and theory for community organizing, and provides discussion of major concepts of culture, community, and power. It concludes with a presentation of an interactive training process to tap into the creativity of participants. It illustrates a leadership development exercise that confirms experience and provides affirmation and inspiration for continued organizing work. The process validates participatory leadership, verbally and visually illustrates strengths of participants, and liberates energy for the work.     

The Significance of Planned Community Participation in Problem Solving and Developing a Viable Community Capability

Abstract

During the last three decades, there has been widespread interest in the role of community participation in development. However, the reasons why grassroot participation is essential have not been clearly and systematically studied. This paper aims to fill that knowledge gap. It argues that grassroots participation in community problem-solving (development) is essential for three fundamental reasons. It facilitates: (1) proper problem diagnosis and needs assessment, (2) sound decision-making regarding choice of relevant and feasible goals/solutions, and (3) successful program implementation. Evidence from recent literature and empirical case studies suggests that voluntary and planned grassroot participation fosters these conditions, and as a result, is a potent vehicle for promoting local, regional, and national development.     

Measuring Wellness Through Interdisciplinary Community Development

SUMMARY

The aim of this study is to answer the question: Is there evidence that the quality of life of residents in a community that has had community development intervention is different as compared to the quality of life of residents in a nearby community that did not have community development initiatives? This was done by administering community development initiatives in a local area and comparing it to a similar community that did not receive this intervention. The residents of these communities rated the quality of their lives and communities in two purposively selected suburbs in Perth, Western Australia using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index to measure individual and neighbourhood well-being. The quality of life of residents in both communities is then compared to national averages for quality of life or well-being. Answering this question provides empirical evidence of variation between ratings of quality of life of residents in different communities and highlights the utility of the Wellbeing Index for the evaluation of interdisciplinary community development.     

Transformative Community Practice

ABSTRACT

The authors examine how well models and concepts of community practice fit their practice in an extremely low income urban African-American community. They describe the evolution of their agency's response to community disinvestment over the past 30 years. That response has been to create indigenous African-centered organizations that can transform how people see themselves, the community, and their futures. Early childhood education, social services, economic development, and leadership training and organizing are core programs. The authors urge model builders and educators to include the concept of transformation as a community change goal, and to strengthen attention to institution building skills, “cultural work,” and capital formation.     

What I do I understand: Teaching community work in the Australian Capital Territory

Abstract

Social work students need to develop both theoretical and practical foundations of knowledge. In a period where community practice is becoming more marginalised the Australian Catholic University subject Social Work Practice with Communities is a core component in the two year professional degree program. It combines an experience based learning approach with traditional teaching methods. Through community projects students learn real-life problem solving and gain confidence in their abilities as community workers. The paper focuses on the relationship between gaining knowledge of conceptual frameworks for community work practice and learning skills. It reviews educational considerations in teaching a subject where conceptual, practical and theoretical components are equally important for competent practice. It demonstrates how the School promotes community work.     

Bridging the Fragmented Community

ABSTRACT

In the global era, with the retrenchment of welfare states, people have to turn to their community, a major component of civil society, for support. In this paper, a fluid concept of community is proposed in response to the fragmentation and diversity caused by globalization in the local community. It is argued that to bridge different interests in the community, settlement houses, as a third sector organization in the community, is an effective community-building mechanism. This paper provides a brief history of the success of the settlement house in building solidarity and generating social capital in the local community. The author identifies implications for the role of the social work profession in revitalizing the settlement house as a community-building approach.     

Dinner together: Using experiential learning to build human connections in a social service setting

ABSTRACT

Innovative pedagogical approaches are needed to teach community practice in this time of rapid community change and political polarization. Bridging the Gap Together is an ongoing experiential learning project with undergraduate social work students and a qualitative study designed to enhance “poverty awareness” and increase social connection among members of a rural, poor community. Students express an increased and deepened understanding of poverty post-experience. Their reflections also capture an awareness of the importance of human connection and the potential of compassionate professionalism to foster its development.     

Urban Community Action Planning Inspires Teenagers to Transform Their Community and Their Identity

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the way a participatory community development technique, Urban Community Action Planning (UCAP), transformed a group of city teenagers into community planners. This teen group, Teen Inspirators, On the Move, formed in response to a community need for more youth activities and programming. This need was identified during a Community Planning Initiative sponsored by the Oak Hill Community Development Corporation located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Teen Inspirators committed themselves to revitalizing their community and changing their own image in the neighborhood. Participatory planning techniques gave youth the voice, power, and tools to accomplish these goals.     

Voices from the Community

Summary

When community members are allowed to participate in the planning and implementation process of a program, they are empowering themselves and their community. The CHAMP Family Program uses a collaborative programming approach with a focus on building the capacities of community members to deliver a family-based HIV prevention program. The CHAMP Program has a Collaborative Board that oversees all aspects of the research project. Using an empowerment framework, this article explores Community Board members' perspectives on their experience in working on CHAMP. Recommendations to researchers in the form of ten key ingredients for community collaboration are presented. The key points primarily focus on building trust with the community, recognizing community strengths, developing skills, building intragroup relations, and involving the community as partners from the beginning to the end.     

Intergenerational Community Action and Youth Empowerment

Abstract

Empowerment theory can provide a useful framework for the design and evaluation of intergenerational community-building programs. Using an intervention research approach that draws heavily on empowerment theory, the author designed, facilitated, and evaluated an innovative model for intergenerational community engagement involving undergraduate students and older adult residents of an assisted living facility. This “Intergenerational Community Action Group” met at the assisted living facility throughout a school year to engage in group-building activities, to discuss and choose an issue of concern to them in the community, and to plan and implement an action project to address the issue. This article discusses the use of empowerment theory in intergenerational community action and similar programs, and reviews the empowerment outcomes for youth participants in the Intergenerational Community Action Group.     

Building Community for Toronto's Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Transsexual and Transgender Youth

SUMMARY

This paper describes the development of Supporting Our Youth, an innovative grassroots program that builds community for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgender youth in Toronto. Hundreds of adults and youth have worked together to develop a broad range of arts, cultural, recreational, and employment training activities, as well as a very popular mentoring and housing program. Initiated in 1997, Supporting Our Youth has been developed according to underlying principles of community development and community building which value broad participation, diverse skills, partnerships, coalition building, and grassroots ownership and direction. As a model, it is transferable to other queer and trans communities, as well as to other marginalized populations.