Community-based Process provides ongoing networking activities and technical assistance to community groups or agencies. It encompasses neighborhood-based, grassroots empowerment models using action planning and collaborative systems planning.
Get the What Would Good Look Like? Activity Book here.
A Beloved Community
A community-based process
Our goal is to create a beloved community and
this will require a qualitative change in our souls
as well as a quantitative change in our lives.
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Several years ago, I began to question why after decades of ‘good’ social services work in the community, we see so few lasting results. I’ve seen wonderful people in the field give their passion, effort, and sacrifice to make a lasting change, only to see their efforts dissipate over time. Those with years of service in the field of prevention, community building, and faith-based ministry or social work either get out of the field or are shells of their former selves, just putting in the time until retirement. So, we began to ask the question: what would good look like?
An environment where the community thrives
A series of focus groups of 8-60+ people revealed that community members identified that their “good” would look like as the following:
- A loving and caring community
- A loving and caring family
- Positivity
- Ability to overcome distractions
- A place where you can reach your dreams and aspirations
- Financial stability
- A place where you can develop as a leader
What are the risk factors that affect the beloved community?
- Disunity in the community
- Distressed families
- Poverty
- Miss education
- False narratives
- Lack of economic opportunities
- Individual and community violence
- Historical policies that work against the community
Building a beloved community, protective factors, that create a safety net:
- Caring relationships
- High expectations
- Opportunity to develop skills
- Community-based process
“Community-based process strategies aim to enhance the ability of the community to more effectively provide prevention and treatment services for substance abuse and mental health services. Services in this strategy include organizing, planning, and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of services implementation, inter-agency collaboration, coalition building, and networking.” Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
Meet the Programs of WWGLL
Black Teen Mental Health Coalition
Provide support and mental health resources to African American teenagers.
Sources of Strength
In partnership with NAMI Franklin County, ArkBuilders Inc. implements Sources of Strength (SOS) program.
