Our community ! Understanding communities ! Dysfunctional communities
Characteristics of a community ! Characteristics of an institution
Building better communities ! An alternative model ! Cartoons



People with disability (inclusive definition)
What is community
Understanding Communities
Community life cycle
Community rights and responsibilities
How does the community care?
Valued community roles

Explanation of terms



Building better communities



Contents

Building better communities

Strategies

Remember

Usefull links

Explanation of terms




Building better communities  (Top)

Building better communities is more about building better members that are responsive to the needs of the community.

Communities that:
Are motivated.
Have a clear, positive outcome: outcomes that are clear, attainable, and worthwhile to all members.
Have committed members: all members feel a part of the process.
Have effective communication: all members communicate to, and respect each other.
Have coordination of activity: all members have clear valued roles.
are more likely to succeed.


Strategies: (Top)

An issue has been identified, or
A person has a particular problem.

Identify the issues:
What is the problem?
Why does the problem happen?
Where does the problem happen?
Who does the problem affect?
How does the problem affect others?
What other issues are involved in the problem?

Build a picture of the problem and how it relates to the person or people.


Identify the stakeholders:
Who are the significant others (family, friends, school / work colleagues etc)?
There may be others in the same situation.
How are they significant to the problem?


How can the stakeholders resolve the problem?
Involve the stakeholders (groups, committees, teams etc).
What are the preferred outcomes?
What skills / resources are available?
What other agencies / services are available?
What strategies can be used to resolve the problem.


Identify the communities:
Often, there is more than one community involved.
List all communities that are a part of the problem.
Understand the communities involved.
See how they work.
Identify communities within communities.
Identify the members.


How can the communities resolve the problem?
Involve the communities (groups, committees, teams etc).
What are the preferred outcomes?
What skills / resources are available?
What other agencies / services are available?
What strategies can be used to resolve the problem.



Remember: (Top)

Resolving issues can be very complex. Often, there are no perfect solutions.

The target communities may also have unresolved issues of their own which need to be resolved first before the problems of the person or people can be addressed.

Motivate the community.

Advocate / negotiate / facilitate, develop team roles within the stakeholders and the community.

Do not take sides.

The various problems expressed by the person are often best resolved by the stakeholders <> target communities.

Your role should be a supportive role, where the people involved find their own solutions.

Respect the community’s goals, beliefs, values, cultures, institutions, members, roles, resources etc.

Communities are generally very protective. Anything that does not fit in will generally fail.

By working with the community in a supportive role (where they do the work), the community has an opportunity to learn and grow.

Don't understimate what the community is capable of doing, if it wants to.

Solutions that the community have found are more likely to succeed where:
… the community has clearly defined roles/goals
… the community has shared goals, beliefs, values, cultures, institutions etc
… the community has clearly defined boundaries
… the community has ownership of it's members
… the community provides valued roles for it's members
… the community communicates effectively with it's members
… the community can depend on it's resources
… the community can balance it's own needs
… the community can share and draw on skills / resources where needed

(Top)