Understanding the community entails understanding it in a number of ways. What do we mean by understanding and describing the community? A Black art teacher, for example, might see herself (or be seen by others) as a member of the Black, arts, and/or education communities, as well as of a particular faith community. Whichever community defines your work, you will want to get to know it well. While we traditionally think of a community as the people in a given geographical location, the word can really refer to any group sharing something in common - place (such as a city, neighborhood, or school district), experience (such as shared experience of racism), or interest (e.g., a community's concern about poverty or violence prevention). In this section, we'll discuss how you might approach examining the community in some detail and setting down your findings in a community description. It's a good way to gain a comprehensive overview of the community - what it is now, what it's been in the past, and what it could be in the future. A good way to accomplish that is to create a community description - a record of your exploration and findings. Taking the time and effort to understand your community well before embarking on a community effort will pay off in the long term. Carrying out an intervention or building a coalition are far more likely to be successful if they are informed by the culture of the community and an understanding of the relationships among individuals and groups within it. Anything we do in a community requires us to be familiar with its people, its issues, and its history. How do you go about understanding and describing the community?įor those of us who work in community health and development, it's important to understand community - what a community is, and the specific nature of the communities in which we work.Whom should you contact to gather information?.Why make the effort to understand and describe your community?.What do we mean by understanding and describing the community?.Examine the community and record your findings in a community description or overview for credibility and awareness.
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