Health Studies and Community Development Organizations - Essay Example

Civic leaders, activists as well as citizens get involved to improve various aspects of communities. It empowers individuals and groups of people them the skills and courage to handle the community problems as the group has one agenda. The community aims to practice justice, equality, and mutual respect, which should be long-term solutions (Garrard, 2011, p. 45).

Contextual information
Community development projects have needs such as drainage improvements, getting rid of street decay, and protecting personal property. The main problem comes when the city’s budget does not consider repairing old houses but instead puts new infrastructure in the community. For instance, a lot of the infrastructure is taken care of by community development programs (Creager, Beckman & Loscalzo, 2013). Recreational parks for the disabled and nursing homes for the old are mostly taken care of by community developments.

Many societies prefer community groups because individuals come together and talk about issues affecting them as a group or community (Andreoli, Cecil, & Carpenter, 2010, p. 125). In such a way, problems are handled than would be a personal matter. The program gets funding from the government or is sponsored, and that is how the community develops. Community development increases job opportunities and reduces crime because the percentage of housing is high thus decreasing homelessness. The community gets an education through the allowances in the program (Fillit, 2010). There is nothing as powerful as an educated society for it eradicates so many problems like poverty.

Social exclusion is a major problem in our global societies. In the U.K., for instance, social exclusions such as drug use, racism, teenage pregnancies, and crime and disorder partnerships are witnessed daily. Social exclusion can happen to anyone, but those with low income, the disabled, and dysfunctional families are more at risk (Plant & Böhm, 2010, p. 109). Care Insights is an example of a U.K based community development that focuses on social exclusion. Its primary aim is empowering the community by maintaining redistribution of resources, preventing conflict to enhance poverty reduction, and finally helping food security. The program also helps the communities come into contact with entrepreneurs, helping the underprivileged to realize their economic potential. Not only does it help the locals, but also it is an international-based community development program (Huber & Swogger, 2014, p. 90).

There are also community-based health programs that do help with social exclusion as well. William Newton HealthCare Foundation is an example of such a community program (Rakel, 2012). The projects include rural health care clinics where the community benefits from having a clinic nearby as well as job opportunities. It also provides medical needs for children, gives scholarships to students, and provides counseling to victims of sexual assault (Greene, 2014, p. 85). The quality of health differs from person to a person resulting from biological, environmental, economic, and lifestyle factors. It is said that health inequalities can be reduced, and the outcomes enhanced.

A good example is smoking tobacco causes cancer, which fastens the death of an individual. Other factors like low-income increase poverty, leading to higher chances of diseases like cholera. People are affected biologically in that they suffer certain disabilities and can’t help themselves, for example, leprosy victims do suffer health-wise when left alone. Such victims depend on community development (Campbell, Walters, & Machin, 2007, p. 87).

Community development organizations have provided an opportunity through their projects to provide diverse benefits to the community (MCKENZIE, PINGER, & KOTECKI, 2012, p. 57). The projects have been the best in dealing with common problems and increasing individuals’ abilities in the community. For the community projects to work, the local governments’ have to collaborate with the community respectively (Micozzi, 2011, p. 66). Nevertheless, as research has shown, some of the locals do disagree with the projects because they lower the output of their products, as many individuals work in community programs. These programs help the young from involving in drug abuse, crime,e, and early parenthood. It helps the youth get busy using their energy positively. Read More