Community Practice All over the World - Essay Example

Community Practice Community Practice The global population is alive to economic inequalities to the diverse development levels in various countries and the varied distribution of natural resources across the globe. As such, different communities experience diverse problems that may relate to poverty, poor health, environmental degradation, illiteracy, drug, and substance abuse, poor sanitation, among other social issues. Having become the next community development officer, I am aware that many governments and non-governmental organizations have been trying to find and adopt solutions for the named community problems. Indeed, federal and local governments and the private sector seek to establish an integrated, partnership approach to address various social problems (Russell & ABCD Institute and Nurture Development, 2009). Unfortunately, the social services model previously adopted by European nations has not addressed the respective societal problems since it did not put the citizens and communities more in control of their affairs. The model reduced the communities to passive recipients of governmental or non-governmental assistance leading to more dependency than empowerment (Russell & ABCD Institute and Nurture Development, 2009). In light of this, I will need to consider new ideas and strategies that will promote the effective use of available resources and enhance increased community involvement in models seeking to address societal problems. Initiatives that place the community in the driving seat have a likelihood of promoting social inclusion, reducing poverty, enhancing community development (Russell & ABCD Institute and Nurture Development, 2009). Such a model will allow the citizens to control the initiatives in a democratic space, which will ensure that they derive empowerment from such initiatives. As a community development officer, I will seek to ensure that we identify, mobilize, and utilize the available resources and strengthen the citizens to use their abilities as resources of solving their community problems (Russell & ABCD Institute and Nurture Development, 2009). To achieve this, I will rely on the information gathered during this semester by all students to decide my next steps. I will equally refer to theories and models to make decisions relating to my next course of action. Most importantly, as a community development officer, I will have to prepare a community profile (Church and Neighborhood Development in London, 2004). In preparing the community profile, I will prepare the ground by creating a steering group, make some initial plans, develop contacts, learn from the experience of the previous community development officer, identify the resources, seek professional advice, and develop a management structure. This will help me to establish my presence in the community, develop a team, and relate with the community. Then I will set aims and objectives for my community assignment. However, as the students gathered this semester, I will have to consider all the dynamics of the reference community, their abilities, community resources, community principles, and community education. I will then select the most effective method to pursue such objectives with much consideration on the findings recorded by the students (Church and Neighborhood Development in London, 2004). Indeed, I will consider the forms of community building, strengths-based approaches, and community approaches that can yield the best results. I will initiate some fieldwork based on the above considerations where I will produce information, train my team, collect new information, and analyze such information. I will then report my findings on the community profile with an aim of briefing the community thereby inviting their contribution and leadership on the proposed initiatives. Ultimately, I will develop and implement an action plan by consulting the relevant citizens and professionals on the key issues including the action plan. I will equally produce and disseminate the action plan to the relevant stakeholders with an aim of drawing their attention to the steps involved and the details of each step. Most assuredly, I will implement the action plan with the help and participation of the citizens, my team, and other stakeholders. Ultimately, I will monitor and evaluate the progress and success of the action plan with reference to the set goals and objectives. I bet this profile will help me to achieve community development that will empower the citizens. The information on the five assets of every community as gathered by the students during this semester will help to identify, analyze, and allocate the available resources. Indeed, this information encourages me to consider and incorporate talents & skills of community members as a resource to community development. This will coerce me to invite community participation and ownership in the development initiatives. The information on the presence of informal networks & volunteer groups will foster my efforts in establishing contacts and developing a management structure. The involvement of such groups will help me to learn more about the community and boost my capacity to reach all citizens. The information on the presence of institutions and professional entities in the community will define the professionals that I should consult to enhance effectiveness of community development. The contribution of such professionals will enhance professionalism in the community initiatives. The information on the presence of a physical environment and economic assets will help me to derive the capacity of the community with an aim of maximizing it and creating empowerment. On the other hand, the student’s information informed me of the different perspectives for social work. Since my work entails social work, I will consider such perspectives to classify my actions. In this case, I will evaluate whether my actions are just, anti-racist, and meet individual liberty. These will act my confines in the action plan. Moreover, the information that community building is a sea of events and people will be very fundamental in my work since it will prepare me to adopt diversity, flexibility, and objectivity in carrying out different events on different people. This informs me of the presence of diverse dynamics in the community which proves that I cannot preempt or ascertain the results of the initiatives prior to its completion. Most importantly, the information about the types of community building will help me choose the best type applicable to the reference community. Indeed, various communities will require specific type of community building. This will help me to develop my action plan that will relate to the chose community building. The action plan must encompass community service, community activity, community involvement, community action, community information, and social (services) development. Most specifically, the definition of capacity building by the students will direct me on the development approach that I will adopt and the people to involve in devising a strategy that will address the social problems in my jurisdiction. The information on community service development defines the development approach and program approach that all community service developments should follow. In following the development approach, I will derive the capacity to focus on the people, allow the citizens to set the agenda, follow the defined strategy, aim at self-reliance, and sustainability, and develop long-term objectives. To achieve this, I will rely on the elements of community service development as defined by the information gathered by the students. I will hence establish an ecological framework by researching about the environment, its needs, resources, and relationships. I will also establish partnerships, build leadership to boost participation in decision making, adopt the pace, flexibility, and planning of the community, form a wide network, and develop a learning culture among the locals (Scottish Government, 2014). The information on how to enhance community education will help me to decide on the most applicable method of training the staff and the locals on the community development plan. By adopting the most effective learning method, I will establish a learning culture in the community and prepare them for development and empowerment. Most assuredly, community education leads to increased social networks, improved involvement, greater teamwork, social cohesion, and influence on community beliefs and attitudes. The students presented four community development approaches that include contributions, instrumental, empowerment, and developmental. The distinction and characteristics of the four approaches will enable me to adopt the most effective development approach. In my case, this information will justify my choice for the empowerment approach as I seek to develop skills and knowledge, encourage local participation and control, and raise consciousness and social action. The information on the significance of the availability of resources and well-resourced families and communities will help me to define the required resources and personnel for the successful development and implementation of community development in the reference community. This proves that community development will require the input of various levels in the community, which may include individuals, families, environment, governments, and various organizations. This will boost my knowledge on the required players for the community development approach to succeed. These players will help me to implement the action plan and solve the eminent social problems in the society. Notably, to address the social issues in the society, I will have to improve the capacity and participation of the community members (Elliott et. al., 2000). To enhance the capacity of the community, I will focus on developing human capital, increasing the material wellbeing of families, developing physical infrastructure, promoting community participation, offering social platforms, relying on community networks, establishing good relations with opinion shapers, and advocating for adversity. The information on community principles will influence my community profiling since it will encourage me to form a steering group and appreciate the abilities in the community as resources for addressing social problems. This will advocate for community participation and contribution to the community development initiative. The principles will help me accommodate capacity of people for growth and change, adopt the ability and competence of the locals, use the environmental resources, encourage social relationships, and reckon the people’s resilience towards addressing social problems. As such, my action plan must consider these principles for it to empower the community. The information on the criticisms of strengths-based approaches will fundamentally define the dynamics of community development approaches that I may adopt. Indeed, this information will boost my knowledge on the diverse characteristics of communities, which will prepare me to address the families in a community individually. This will affect the implementation of the action plan and hence the need to abhor flexibility, diversity, and resilience in implementing the community development initiative. The fact that some families may lack the will to expose their problems, some social problems require deeper research, concentration on adults’ capacity may not be effective, and that some communities place the blame on social problems on specific people will jeopardize my efforts to devise and implement a universal model. This compels me to design a model that will suit the dynamics of the community. Most importantly, the information gathered by the students show that the structure of the model could have negative or positive effects on the community. With this consideration in mind, I will seek to design and implement a community development model that will guarantee empowerment and efficiency in the community. In making the decisions named here in, I will rely on various concepts, theories, and models. Indeed, I will use the empowerment, partnership, and participation concepts. I will also use the change strategy model. Moreover, I will depend on the intervention and constructivist theories. I chose the empowerment, partnership, and participation concepts because the empowerment concept would help the community to develop the capacity to address their social problems by using the talents and abilities and resources (Page & Czuba, 1999). In using the partnership concept, I will establish relationships with professionals and other stakeholders based on mutual respect, which helps in devising an effective strategy. The participation concept seeks to involve the community in decision-making (Scottish Government, 2014) and implementation since such involvement will derive ownership and empowerment from the community development initiative (A Fairer World, n.y). Moreover, I will use the change strategy model because this model allows the community to engage in activities that will solve their social problems (Yaeger & Sorensen, 2009). This model supports the gathering of information and rational thinking in making decisions that will support the design and implementation of a community development initiative. Indeed, the model will help me to organize the community into solving their problems. Moreover, in using the intervention and constructivist theories, I seek to derive significant influence within the community by getting involved in the social, cultural, and economic activities of the community (Bradley, 2014). I also seek to invite the intervention of the community and other partners on solving the social problems in the society. This ensures that I identify with the societal problems and that the community derives empowerment from the initiative by owning it and using their resources to solve their problems. These concepts, models, and theories defined my community profiling. Indeed, the community profiling was suitable for the dynamic community, enhanced community participation, manifested professionalism, and enhanced the implementation and monitoring of the initiative. This guaranteed effectiveness, empowerment, and other positive results. References A Fairer World. (n.y). Participation and Empowerment. Retrieved from: http://www.afairerworld.org/_Development/participation.html Bradley, J. (2014). Community Organization Theories. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/community-organization-theories-70032.html Church and Neighborhood Development in London. (2004). Community Profiling. Retrieved from: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/communityprofiling.pdf Elliott, B., Mulroney, L., O’Neil, D. (2000). Promoting Family Change: The Optimism Factor. Allen and Unwin, St. Leonards, NSW. Page, N., & Czuba, C. (1999). Empowerment: What Is It? Retrieved from: http://www.joe.org/joe/1999october/comm1.php Russell, C., & ABCD Institute and Nurture Development. (2009). Communities in Control – Developing Assets. Retrieved from: http://www.abcdinstitute.org/docs/Communities%20in%20Control-%20Developing%20Assets.pdf Scottish Government. (2014). What is community capacity building? Retrieved from: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/communitylearninganddevelopment/communitycapacitybuilding/aboutccb/whatisccb.asp Yaeger, T., & Sorensen, P. (2009). Strategic Organization Development: Managing Change for Success. North Carolina: IAP. Read More