Community Organization in Indian Settings: Insights, Practices and Scope

This study tests observations regarding the dynamics of fraternal organizations in urban and semi-urban Ontario communities against those in a rural settlement. The study focuses on Freemasonic and Orange Lodges that operated in a southwestern Ontario town of less than 2,000 persons between the late 1860s and the early 1900s. Exceptional results indicate fraternal organizations operating in rural Ontario during the late nineteenth century may have had some unique characteristics. Further study could test the wider applicability of these results and serve to shed further light on the role of fraternal organizations in community- and identity-building in rural Ontario during this period.

National Leadership Summit Promotes Consumer-Driven Options in LTC

Using a paradigmatic framework, this paper examines ideas of John M. Perkins, a visionary of central city neighborhood renewal in community development tradition and a co-founder of Christian Community Development Association. Perkins' model of redevelopment is qualitatively different than those offered to date because of its emphasis on parish church, long-term relationships, relocation of leaders to community, reconciliation of people across race and class and a redistribution predicated on a prior relocation and reconciliation. Keywords: Community development, John Perkins, urban poverty, church In chapter one of Principles of Economics we find Alfred Marshall's judgment that the two great forming agencies of world's history have been religious and (1920: 1). Max Stackhouse, a Princeton University ethicist, also accords economics and religion prominent roles in shaping society. In paraphrasing Pope John Paul II, in Centesimus Annus, Stackhouse writes that: The two key forces likely to have most direct bearing on future are corporations and religion. Corporations are instrument of economic productivity for foreseeable future, and religion is bearer of those decisive values by which we guide our production, distribution, and consumption of whatever wealth is generated. (1996: 40) The United States began its modem response to poverty during Great Depression. Starting with Title IV of path breaking Social Security Act (1935), which created Aid to Dependent Children (changed to Aid to Families with Dependent Children in 1962), we have seen evolution of a welfare system. [1] Although welfare programs contribute to alleviation of poverty, we must be clear that they were not necessarily designed to end [2] The Civil Rights Movement and attendant legal rulings, such as Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Fair Housing Act of 1968, also contributed to a decline in incidence of Additionally there have been a number of private and/or public sector site-specific programs emphasizing urban renewal. These include, Gray Areas, Mobilization for Youth, Model Cities, Enterprise/ Opportunity Zones, and community-based organizations, inclusive of community development corporations, many of which were products of War on P overty (Halpern 1995). Despite these efforts William Julius Wilson claims there is a 'new urban poverty' [characterized by] segregated neighborhoods in which a substantial majority of individual adults are either unemployed or have dropped out of labor force altogether (1996:19). This reality garners attention of politician and social scientist alike, each searching for answers to a seemingly convoluted problem. The apparent intractability may well call for perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to examine ideas of John M. Perkins as they pertain to new urban poverty. In late 1940s he left racial oppression of Mississippi for opportunities of California, but returned to address injustices of his people. Perkins became a visionary of central city neighborhood renewal in community development tradition and a co-founder of Christian Community Development Association. His life corroborates Marshall's and Stackhouse's observation regarding primacy of religious and economic thought and institutions in molding society. The presentation and assessment of Perkins' model contributes to public policy debate on efforts to improve well-being of many residing in impoverished urban communities. The model is qualitatively different than those offered to date because of its emphasis on a parish church, long-term relationships, relocation of leaders to community, reconciliation of people across race and class, and a redistribution predicated on a prior relocation and reconciliation. …

Building relationships and community collaborations—especially on an institutional level—is a slow and long-term process. These types of innovative, experimental, and long-term collaborations with community organizations and groups often lead art institutions to reflect on the value and place of their institutional structures when engaging in collaborative projects that strive for political engagement and community development. Taking into consideration the notions of risk, conflict, power, language, and funding structures, this article names the challenges to and analyzes the potential for collaborative practices between art institutions and non-art community groups and organizations within program development and community engagement work. It argues that to truly “collaborate” art institutions must make a break from long-standing traditions and embrace very new ways of thinking about, talking about, and doing work in the sometimes rarefied world of Art.

Chapter 1: The Role of Assets in Community-Based Development Whither Community? Growth Versus Development People Versus Place Capacity Building Community Sustainability The Challenge of Regionalism Asset Building Public Participation The Role of Community-Based Organizations Models of Community Development Summary and Conclusions Chapter 2: A History of Community Development in America The Evolution of Community Development Recurring Issues in Community Development Summary and Conclusions Chapter 3: Community Sustainability What Is Community Sustainability? Why Sustainability? The History of Sustainability Approaches to Sustainability Summary and Conclusions Chapter 4: The Community Development Process Community Organizing Public Participation Planning Models, Techniques, and Process Steps Summary and Conclusions Chapter 5: The Role of Community-Based Organizations Community Development Corporations Local Development Corporations Neighborhood Associations Community Youth Organizations Faith-Based Organizations Community Foundations International Nongovernmental Organizations Summary and Conclusions Chapter 6: Human Capital Workforce Development Issues Key Concepts and Debates CBOs and Workforce Development Context for Workforce Development Key Actors and Institutions Local Labor Market Data Developing Goals and Strategies Summary and Conclusions Chapter 7: Social Capital Social Capital Definition and Issues Key Concepts and Debates CBOs and Social Capital Social Capital and Ethnic Enclaves Social Capital and Local Economic Development Assessing Social Capital Summary and Conclusions Chapter 8: Physical Capital Housing Issues Key Concepts and Debates A History of Federal Housing Policy The Role of CBOs in Housing Provision The Impact of CBOs Summary and Conclusions Chapter 9: Financial Capital Financial Capital Issues Key Concepts and Debates Community Credit Institutions Context for Community Credit Institutions Key Actors and Institutions Community Economic Development Finance Predatory Lending Individual Development Accounts Assessing Local Credit Markets Strategies for Building Local Credit Markets Summary and Conclusions Chapter 10: Environmental Capital Forms of Environmental Capital Land Use and Environmental Capital The Roles of Government and the Market Community-Based Organizations Summary and Conclusions Chapter 11: Political Capital Key Concepts and Debates Methods Community-Based Organization and Political Capital Community Collaboration and Political Capital Deliberative Democracy as Political Capital Summary and Conclusions Chapter 12: Cultural Capital Cultural Capital Definition and Issues Key Concepts and Debates Culture and Place Government and CBOs in Cultural Capital Summary and Conclusions Chapter 13: Food, Energy, and Community Local Food Systems and Community Types of Local Food Systems Energy and Local Sustainability Summary and Conclusions Chapter 14: Natural Disasters and Climate Change: The Role of Community Assets What Are Natural Disasters? What Creates Natural Disasters? Responses to Natural Disasters The Role of Community-Based Organizations Summary and Conclusions Chapter 15: The Future of Community Development Fulfilling the Promise of Community-Based Development Local Versus External Initiation of Community Development Community-Based Organizations and International Development An Agenda for Promoting Community Development in America Summary and Conclusions

Bangladesh is a low income country. In the urban slums of Bangladesh, poverty makes the impact of life-limiting conditions devastating on family and community members. Communities that are already impoverished...

Despite the fact that women account for more than half of the total worldpopulation, they are still not considered equal to men. The health of rural women in Pakistanis very poor because of the lack of health services and competent health workers. Besidesgovernment health centres, hospitals and many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)are also working in the rural areas for providing social services to rural women. Punjab RuralSupport Programme is also working for socio-economic empowerment of rural women. PRSPbegan to provide health facilities to the poor people in villages through Basic Health Units(BHUs). Objectives: To analyze the role of PRSP in providing health facilities to women in ruralarea. Design: A multistage simple random sampling technique was used for the study. Setting:District Faisalabad. Material & Methods: The population for the study consisted of rural womenonly who were members of the Community Organizations (COs) of PRSP. Out of the eight townsof district Faisalabad, four towns which cover rural areas (Samundri, Iqbal town, Jaranwala,and Chak Jhumra) were selected. Four field units of PRSP are working in these four towns i.e.Salarwala in Chak Jhumra, Satiana in Jaranwala, Khidarwala in Samundri, and Dijkot in IqbalTown. These field units had 214, 203, 170 and 238 female COs, respectively. A sample of 10%COs was selected from each field unit randomly. Thus the total selected COs were 82. Fivemembers from each CO were selected at random. In this way the total sample size for the studywas 410 respondents. A reliable and validated data collection instrument consisting of openand close ended questions was used. The data were analyzed using SPSS. It was concludedthat respondents were satisfied with certain facilities like availability of female doctors in BHUs,availability of medicines and availability of competent and qualified paramedics. Provision ofbasic tests (blood, sugar, pregnancy and haemoglobin etc.) was very weak area which neededmuch improvement. Conclusions: It was also concluded that respondents were satisfied withthe behaviour of staff at BHUs. However, provision of basic medical equipment needed attentionfrom the authorities.

The failure of top-down categorical approaches for generating solutions to many local problems has led to the adoption of alternate approaches. Many scholars believe that a confluence of local and global forces have generated complex problems, which call for new approaches to problem solving. Previously, the top-down approach relied entirely on the knowledgeable elite. Communities were seen as passive study subjects and information flow was one way only- from knowledgeable elites to the less knowledgeable community agents or community-based organization acting on behalf of communities. The objectives of this study are to provide a review of governance as a means of organizing community action to address community problems in the Black Belt Region (BBR) of the Southeastern United States, and an assessment of community problems in the BBR from the perspectives of community-based organizations (CBOs). Data was collected from CBOs via a telephone survey in eleven Southeastern states and via listening sessions conducted with CBOs in 9 Southeastern states. The study provides valuable insight regarding the challenges faced by these organizations and strategies they employ in adapting to serve their communities.

Data relating to community development activities are often decentralised in nature and does not easily facilitate any national-level analysis. Given non-trivial spending in this area and increased pressure to show value for money in all areas of government expenditure, there is increased pressure for some measurement and assessment of community-level spending. In Ireland, a single body, Pobal, coordinates a large proportion of community development activity under a national community development programme. The Local and Community Development Programme represented a central component of Ireland’s funding for community development which aims to tackle poverty, social exclusion and long-term unemployment through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies. This ‘bottom-up’ structure aims to enable participation by citizens in the design, planning and implementation of interventions at a local level. Organisations in receipt of funding under Local and Community Development Programme must record their activities within a single database. The availability of this data provides a unique opportunity to address a number of key questions, in a unified framework, regarding community development spending that will help inform policy both in Ireland and elsewhere. Specifically, the paper explores the relationship between community development training and goals and the links between provision and social deprivation, geography and cost. It also considers the extent to which the general requirement to demonstrate value for money in the public finances could, and/or should, be extended into the community development realm.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) have been instrumental in addressing the needs of people living with HIV, however, little is known about their efforts to address HIV-related stigma through stigma reduction efforts. This study examined practices of CBOs related to mitigating HIV-related stigma in nine Deep South states. CBOs were surveyed as part of a larger study through the Gilead COMPASS Initiative. The CBO survey asked CBO leadership about stigma in their communities and services available to address this stigma. Survey respondents (n = 207) indicated that HIV-related stigma was perceived as a substantial barrier to both HIV care and CBO services. Although just over two-thirds of survey participants reported that there were group-level programs to address HIV-related stigma, 73% reported that there were not enough interventions to meet the need in their community. Further, 68% reported a lack of individual-level stigma reduction interventions. A majority reported a lack of public media campaigns to address stigma and a lack of training available to assist CBOs to address stigma. In addition, services to address stigma were reportedly less available in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts. Study findings indicate a need to identify, implement, and scale-up effective interventions to reduce HIV stigma in the US Deep South.

Problem, research strategy, and findings Planning departments use nonprofit subcontractors to increase neighborhood community organizing. However, this is the first study to assess practitioner perceptions of this subcontracting arrangement and its effect on addressing or perpetuating racial inequities in neighborhood community organizing. We used 39 interviews in an exploratory study of Oklahoma City (OK) and a nonprofit that is contracted to do neighborhood organizing. Interviewees described how the organization improved some community organizing given its detailed approach to formalize neighborhood associations. At the same time, participants believed that the subcontracting relationship and focus on formalized neighborhood associations perpetuated existing disparities in community organizing given long-standing challenges of systemic racism. The study is limited in its focus on one example but provides implications for local municipalities that contract out community development services. Takeaway for practice Nonprofits can be important partners in expanding community organizing in neighborhoods. We offer recommendations for how planners can assess and work with subcontractor community organizing nonprofits in various stages of contracts, such as co-creating metrics for success and evaluating these outcomes with the subcontractor. Planning departments can then better understand how to modify future contracts to address racial equity disparities. Planners also should understand how these organizations may highlight ongoing ineffectiveness and challenges of working with diversifying publics and existing disparities in the planning process.

Work stress is endemic among direct care workers (DCWs) who serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Social resources, such as work social support, and personal resources, such as an internal locus of control, may help DCWs perceive work overload and other work-related stressors as less threatening and galvanize them to cope more effectively to prevent burnout. However, little is known about what resources are effective for coping with what types of work stress. Thus, we examined how work stress and social and personal resources are associated with burnout for DCWs. We conducted a survey of DCWs ( n = 323) from five community-based organizations that provide residential, vocational, and personal care services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participants completed a self-administered survey about their perceptions of work stress, work social support, locus of control, and burnout relative to their daily work routine. We conducted multiple regression analysis to test both the main and interaction effects of work stress and resources with respect to burnout. Work stress, specifically work overload, limited participation decision-making, and client disability care, was positively associated with burnout ( p < .001). The association between work social support and burnout depended on the levels of work overload ( p < .05), and the association between locus of control and burnout depended on the levels of work overload ( p < .05) and participation in decision-making ( p < .05). Whether work social support and locus of control make a difference depends on the kinds and the levels of work stressors. The findings underscore the importance of strong work-based social support networks and stress management resources for DCWs.

Local governments play pivotal role in fostering and facilitating community development, a vital aspect of societal progress. This research aims to explore and analyze the multifaceted role of local governments in community development initiatives. Through an extensive literature review and case studies, this study investigates the key responsibilities, challenges, and best practices employed by local governments to ameliorate conditions of their communities. The research delves into the various aspects of community development, including social, economic, and environmental dimensions. It examines how local governments engage with stakeholders—residents, community organizations, and businesses—to identify needs, set priorities, and implement strategies tailored to the unique characteristics of their regions. Furthermore, the study investigates the policy frameworks, funding mechanisms, and resources that local governments utilize to support community development projects. The research relies upon qualitative methods and data collection mainly from official documents and research. Findings from this research helps not only understanding challenges and means employed to address them by local governments in community development.

While prior research shows how community-based organizations (CBO’s) create new social ties and solidarities, we know less about CBO’s that formalize preexisting relationships of care. Analyzing transgender nonprofits as a strategic case, this article develops the concept of kinship organizations: organizations that incorporate norms, networks, and resources from kinship systems into a formal organization that provides regular social services. Drawing on 7 months of ethnography and 36 formal interviews with staff and clients, I explore how transgender kinship organizations function, develop, and impact broader transgender community. Kinship organizations are highly responsive to crisis, are able to leverage personal and organizational resources, and are therefore capable of providing personalized rapid-response care to very precarious transgender people. On the other hand, subsuming kinship within a nonprofit transforms relationships of mutual care into unidirectional service relationships and relationships of chosen family into work-based hierarchies. This account of kinship organizations contributes to the theory on organizational development and provides new conceptual tools for analyzing boundaries between organizations and communities.

This paper explores and reflects upon the literature and several mini case studies to recommend a change of focus for the linking management and development of community participants and community organisations. This change of focus looks at complexity and patterns that arise from the multitude of social interactions; the support and development of individuals and the effect this can have on an organisation’s wellbeing; and the effect a community organisation can have on that of the individual. To gain insight into wellbeing, people need to be aware of their mind, body and energy and how they affect others. There is evidence that terminally ill people who have found new beliefs have experienced a spontaneous remission of disease. Humanity evolves in the same way as we control our destiny. We can learn to love, respect, trust, and commit to each other and work in harmony, or we can foster disharmony resulting in failure and negative feelings. As the economy changes, community organisations are under threat of extinction. Just as species and humanity evolve, we suggest that community organisations need to evolve to ensure wellbeing.