Hello,
Thank you for your patience in my response. Also, thank you for your question.
We don't have information on mentoring for birth moms in foster care specifically, but Chapter 22 of the Tool Box has several different sections on youth mentoring. See /en/table-of-contents/implement/youth-mentoring. You may also want to do a search of various mentorship models that you could use that fir what you are doing.
It also sounds like you may be working with a fairly vulnerable group, correct? I may also consider thinking about creating a coalition (of sorts) to assist in addressing this topic. See Toolkits 1 /en/creating-and-maintaining-partnerships and 2 /en/assessing-community-needs-and-resources. A coalition would bring together different stakeholders that have a "stake" in this topic, such as local community members, health systems, and the foster care system, for example. I understand that this is far beyond what you are asking. And, by converging a group like this, you may also gain access to these important resources (and knowledge of them).
Thank you for writing in! And, good luck with your important work!
Charlie
You may consider chapters 36 - 39 in the Tool Box, as they pertain to evaluating the effectiveness of a program. Toolkit is also a related space where you will find some relevant information. See /en/evaluating-initiative.
In terms of direct strategies for question development, I lean on what I want to know. That is, what, specifically, would I like to know from participants? If, for example, you are interested in whether a participant (or generally community member) has any experience, you may show one of your ads and ask something like, "In the past month, how many times have you seen this ad?" Or, something like, "In seeing these materials, have they caused you to think about the following..." and you may have a list of ideas you are intending to foster with the materials. Without having the specific context, I can only create general ideas. But, generally, they should be pointed and direct regarding specific components of the messaging. You may also consider doing an internet search for "crafting survey questions."
I hope this information is helpful. Good luck on your work and thanks for writing in!
Thank you for your question. I am not sure if I can adequately respond without some more context, but I can point you to some resources that I think may be of use. It sounds like you are interested in creating some sort of internal organziational committee, correct? If so, you may find the chapters on "Developing a stratrgic plan and organizational structure" helpful. See /en/table-of-contents. You may also find the sections on "leadership and management" useful.
Good luck on your work! Thanks again for writing in!
Hello, and thank you for writing in!
Because the Tool Box chapters are interlinked and have many hyperlinked references, we do not have a pdf or other format copy we can send. Using ctrl+P is a fairly quick way to save it in a pdf, however.
Thanks again!
Hola, Mi respuesta es en inglés y español (con la ayuda de un traductor en línea). Gracias por escribir. Haces una pregunta muy importante. Las perspectivas probablemente diferirán en esto, por lo que le proporcionaré mis propias ideas. Para mí, al diseñar una intervención, primero trato de convocar a la coalición de partes interesadas más representativa posible antes de hacer preguntas. Luego, utilizo varias herramientas descritas en los capítulos 17-19 para asegurar que se escuchen todas las voces, especialmente las más afectadas por el problema. También es probable que trabaje con las partes interesadas para construir una teoría de cambio para un posible programa / intervención. En general, trato de hacer mi mejor esfuerzo para crear un contexto en el que las partes interesadas guíen el proceso. Mi objetivo es ayudar a que surjan esas ideas en lugar de tratar de hacer cumplir mis propias ideas. Gran pregunta! Charlie
My response is in English and Spanish (with help from an online translator).
Thank you for writing in. You ask a very important question. Perspectives will likely differ on this, so I will provide you with my own ideas.
For me, when designing an intervention, I first try to convene the most representative coalition of stakeholders possible before asking questions. Then, I utilize various tools outlined in chapters 17 – 19 to ensure that all voices are heard – especially those most affected by the issue. I will also likely work with the stakeholders to build a theory of change for a potential program/intervention.
Generally, I try to do my best to create a context where the stakeholders guide the process. My goal is to assist in emerging those ideas instead of trying to enforce my own ideas.
Great question!
Thank you for writing into the community tool box!
This is a very broad question, but in my experience a logic model or theory of change are great ways to identify the progress of a intervention/program/initiative. Chapters 36-39 in the tool box have some great resources on evaluation. I'd recommend starting here: /en/table-of-contents/evaluate/evaluation.
Good luck with your work!
Thank you for your question and visiting the Ask an Advisor site. Although your question is a bit out of our area, I can help think of some potential paths. I would start by recommending building connections with institutions who have ambulances. I think they would likely be the most informed about how the process of ambulance donation would work. I am not familiar with Ugandan systems, but perhaps there are emergency and other ambulance services there that may be able to help.
Good luck with your work! Thank you again for contacting us!
Thank you for contacting the toolbox! Also, thank you for your patience on my response.
We do not connect organizations to volunteers. However, depending on where you are located, there are likely organizations that do that kind of work. In the U.S., for example, the United Way is such an organization that works to connect organizations and volunteers. There are also many coalitions that do similar work.
I would recommend looking locally for similar organizations that may fit your needs.
Thank you for your patience on my response! And, thank you for your question.
There are not any legal issues for using the information provided on the website. However, we would appreciate appropriate citations when referencing the site and/or any materials we produce.
Thank you for writing in and thanks for your patience on my response.
This sounds like really wonderful work! Unfortunately, it is a little out of my expertise area. However, I know there are many programs around the U.S. that use the arts and dance for a whole host things around community building and healing. For example, there are researchers in my field (community psychology) that use photography as a method for consciousness raising and community change (see "Photovoice"). There is also an entire field of arts-based activism.
If I were in your position (with your skills and desire), I would connect with a local organization(s) around a topic you are interested in addressing with dance. For example, a former student of mine works in a local "alternative" school to use physical fitness as a form of meditation/focus for students who may be at higher risk for dropping out. In Googling "dance as conflict resolution" I found an article in psychology today that may also be helpful: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-dolphin-divide/201608/conflict-resolution-dancing-your-way-cooperation.
Good luck in your work.
Hello, Thank you for writing in! Unfortunately, we don't have information on funding as it is most often context specific. I would recommend checking with local agencies/organizations that do leadership development. Your local city/county may also have some funds.
Good luck! Charlie
I would recommend connecting with a local non-profit organization. They usually have many opportunities for people who are looking to take action.
Hello Lara,
We did not have a specific example of a feasibility study in The Community Tool Box.
I am able to recommend the following article that provides great details and practical advice about conducting a feasibility study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2859314/
Because this is from a public health perspective, it seems most appropriate to your project, and includes descriptions of studies that have been done. It also provides guidance for different methods that may be used to address different questions you may have. For example, are you concerned about acceptability, practicality, demand? It has suggestions for data collection activities most suitable to answer each of them. There is guidance offered for many of the data collection methods in Chapter 3 of the Community Tool Box - Assessing Community Needs and Resources. You might also explore Section 6 in Chapter 17.
I hope this is helpful to you. If you need more or this did not meet your need, please write back wtih more specific questions and hopefully we can be more helpful.
Yes, cultural competence is important in any situation. If you want to read more about why this is important and what it means, please see Chapter 27, Section 7 in The Community Tool Box.
The Community Tool Box Advisor
The Community Tool Box helps to join people by offering tools that can be used by individuals who are working to join people. Each Chapter includes information about how to work together to solve community problems or create stronger communities. The related Toolkits are also helpful. For example, Toolkit #1 is Creating and Maintaining Coalitions and Partnerships. It includes resources to help bring people together in common purpose, assemble the group, form a collective plan and implement it together.
Chapters 27 and 28 help with cultural competence and spirituality and community building. This knowledge and the tools are helpful to not only bring people together, but help them to understand one another and work more effectively together.
I hope this answers your question and you will explore the information and tool kits to see how it can help you to create community and bring people together.
Hello Einar O.
The Community Tool Box likes it when people use our material and reference us. There is no problem with citing the web platform when you reference material in an academic presentation. The rights reservation and copyrighting are so that people can't take the material and pretend it is their own. Sharing the learning and citing it appropriately is not only OK, but it helps us to get the work out. So, thank you for using and citing the material, and thank you for asking.
Hello Janie,
The Advisors are separate from the Community Tool Box development team, so I cannot tell you for sure if they will be updating the Precede-Proceed Model. I will, however, pass along your suggestion to them, especially if it would make things easier.
Thank you so much for sharing this information!
The CTB Advisor
Hello Michele,
Thank you for contacting The Community Tool Box. We are pleased to hear that we have been helpful over the years with your work in the community.
In regard to deciding whether to suspend the work there are a few considerations.
1. Will the potential violence place individuals who are collecting data in danger?
2. If there is, indeed, a "revolution" taking place and it looks like things might change somehow (political, economic, cultural), how will the outcome impact the community needs and assets? If the current conditions may result in greater or different needs or somehow affect the results you might achieve, then it is important to wait and capture the needs once the environment is stable enough to formulate and implement a plan.
3. If it looks like this "revolution" will be an ongoing string of civil disobedience over a length of time, then you might want to do the assessment and include questions about how this is impacting community members and include this in your planning.
4. You might consider doing an abbreviated version during this time of unrest to determine short term needs at this time, and then conduct the more comprehensive assessment at a later date to be used for long-term planning.
In summary, the first consideration should always be safety. After that, the primary consideration is timing to complete the assessment when you will get the most useful information that can be incorporated into short- and long-term plans without the distortion of results that some extreme but passing events may provide.
Please stay safe and write again if you have further questions.
Hello Adam,
Thank you for contacting The Community Tool Box about assistance with community building. To learn more about what we have to offer, please contact the Community Tool Box staff at:
Work Group for Community Health and Development 4082 Dole Human Development Center 1000 Sunnyside Avenue University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045-7555 (U.S.A.)
Telephone: (785) 864-0533 Fax: (785) 864-5281 Email: toolbox@ku.edu
We will welcome a call or email from you more directly than through our Ask an Advisor feature.
The Community Tool Box offers guidance for Community Change and Promoting Community Health and Development in Chapters 1, 2,3, and especially Chapter 4 (Getting Issues on the Public Agenda). When you read these chapters, and any others, keep in mind that The Community Tool Box is U.S. based and the guidance provided generally reflects how things are done in the U.S. In our work, we have found that these same methods may not apply in other countries where there are differences in the government, laws, and culture. Using these methods without considering the context where you are can actually have negative outcomes.
Since you are interested in getting problems on the public agenda in Pakistan, I would suggest that you:
1. Browse the Chapters in The Community Tool Box to find what might be relevant and learn some more general possible techniques. For example, Chapter 3 gives guidance on assessing community needs and resources which may be helpful for you to clearly define the problems. And then, before you take any action --
2. Find individuals who have been successful in Pakistan at getting problems on the public agenda and working to create change. Strategies that are effective in the U.S. may not be at all effective, or even possible in other countries. Again, sometimes strategies used in the U.S. may even have negative outcomes when they are used in other countries. So it is very important that you work with someone who is skilled in Pakistan and knows the laws and how the systems there work. The most important thing to consider if you want to be successful is how the systems work in Pakistan and which methods work best for bringing awareness in those systems.
I hope this is helpful.
Yes! The Community Tool Box is an excellent resource to help you with creating a community partnership database and mapping community assets.
Chapter 3 includes sections on identifying community assets and resources (Section 8) and tools for community mapping (Section 16). It has a number of other sections that may also include useful information about collecting data in your community. Toolkit #2 accompanies Chapter 3 and includes many resources that you might also find useful. At the bottom of each section, The Community Toolbox includes links to additional resources that can also be helpful.
Thank you for contacting us!
We are happy to see that you are interested in our newsletter! To sign up just follow the instructions below. Please write back if they do not work for some reason.
Put your mouse on "Connect: Link with Others in the middle at the top of the page. A drop-down menu will appear with one of the selections being "Subscribe to eNewsletter." Click on that and it should take you to a page so that you can sign up. I just signed up and it worked.
I am sorry to tell you that The Community Tool Box does not provide hands on services, but provides information and guidance. After reading through your request I found several chapters that you may find helpful:
1. Chapter 2, Section 1. This explains how to create a logic model which you may or may not have. But more importantly, at the bottom of the page are links to good resources for creating a Theory of Change. This can be one useful way to show how what you are doing is expected to produce the changes that will lead to your longer term outcome.
2. Chapter 3 is about gathering and analyzing all types of data. This, and the other tool kits and resources provided may help you to identify the best data you can use, or how to gather it.
3. Chapter 13 offers Orienting Ideas in Leadership. You may find information in here that you can use to support your case for leadership development. Likewise in Chapter 14 which covers core functions in leadership.
4. Chapter 23 is about Modifying access, barriers and opportunities which is, again, related to the work you are doing. You may also find useful tools or information you can reference to support your grant application.
5. Chapter 42 is about getting grants and may also include helpful information for your grant proposal.
If these tools do not meet your needs, you might try contacting a local university professor in a business school to see if they would be either able to help, or perhaps have a promising graduate student who needs a project or would be interested in performing community service.
I hope these tools are helpful.
Thank you for contacting The Community Tool Box and for your complimentary remarks.
The Advisor cannot provide you permission to use Tool Box materials, nor can we form a partnership with you. We can, however, give you information about who to contact for these things. Here is the contact information for The Community Tool Box.
We would love to hear from you! Please contact us if you have comments or suggestions or if we may be of assistance:
Telephone: (785) 864-0533 Fax: (785) 864-5281 Email: toolbox@ku.edu Website: http://communityhealth.ku.edu
We hope this is helpful,
The "Ask the Advisor" feature of hte Community Tool Box is for questions. Contact information for inquiries such as this should go to:
Thank you!
Thank you for writing to us at the Community Tool Box. There’s no doubt that both poverty and illiteracy are great problems in many parts of the world. But what can one person do to make a difference and improve the situation? You are asking a very big question!
In our opinion, a good way to start is first to think about your own community setting, and the resources – people, money, and time – you have available (or can make available) there. Then, you might ask yourself what specific actions can you take in your community right now that are realistic and that will have a good chance of success?
Those actions may be small in size and scope. But if you can achieve even a small success, that is a very good thing. That’s because success will lead to positive outcomes for you and your community, and also because success will most likely increase your own confidence and the community’s confidence as well.
In different words, success builds momentum. And that means it will increase the chances of your taking future actions in the same area.
To find the best actions, though, will usually take thinking and planning before you actually get going. This planning time will pay off for you later on. You might want to plan your work together with other people in your setting who feel as you do, both because better ideas may emerge from discussion, and because several people can then share the work you decide upon.
Also, as you think further, you might consult the sections in Chapter 18 in the Community Tool Box, which discusses Deciding Where to Start. The sections in Chapter 19, on designing interventions, may also be helpful to you.
Thanks again for being in touch, and all best wishes for great success in your work.
Dear Sarah, many thanks for your answer and for your interest in Ask an Advisor. Generally, each call for proposal suggests a specific logic model for planning a project. Anyway, you can find many indications in our Toolkit, Chapter 2, Section 1. Developing a Logic Model or Theory of Change, on the web page /en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/logic-model-development/main
Hoping for a successful result for your project, best greetings!
Dear Cassie,
many thanks for your question and for your confidence in our help. Surely, Community Tool Box has a lot of suggestions that may be useful in a project. However, if you ask us about more specific issues, we may give you - we hope - more suitable indications. Looking forward to better knowing your doubts and your difficulties, many greetings!
Dear Jkk, thank you for your interesting (and complex) question.
Many many people talk about critical thinking. Promoting a critically and rationally way of thinking is one of the aims of all educational institutions. Philosophers up from very ancient times (like Socrates or Plato) have discussed the suitable pathway for critical knowledge. In contemporary times, the philosopher Robert Ennis defined critical thinking as a form of “reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do”. A Latin American educator, Paulo Freire, used the notion of “critical consciousness” referring to the use of critical thinking for analyzing the situation of oppression, as the first step toward change.
From a community psychology perspective, critical thinking may be seen as the search for new strategies and new solutions for collective problems, avoiding re-proposing old attempted solutions, which are often intertwined with the problem, as the systemic scholars stated.
Critical thinking is, therefore, related to efforts to change. You may find ideas in this regard in Community Tool Box, f.i. in Section “Help Taking Action”, sub-section “Best Change Processes”, and precisely “Developing a Framework or Model of Change” on the page /en/best-change-processes/developing-a-framework-or-model-of-change/overview. There are suggestions to promote a real process towards changing, taking into account both difficulties and resources existing in social contexts, exploring rationally and critically the best practices for meeting community needs.
Hoping to have provided useful indications, best greetings!
Dear Onaida
thank you for your questions and for compliments addressed to our work! Our mission is just to offer answers or at least useful instruments for community psychologists.
You can find useful suggestions for both your questions, related to assessing and enhancing cultural competence in our Toolkit 9, “Enhancing Cultural Competence”, which provides also examples.
See also the whole Chapter 27, “Cultural Competence in a Multicultural World”: its eleven sections, with multifaceted topics aimed at enhancing cultural competence and build culturally competent and inclusive communities, may be really interesting for achieving your goals. See, in particular, Section 2. “Building Relationships with People from Different Cultures”. Each section indicates Online Resources and Print Resource (with appropriate references). Generally, this kind of information is related to cultural differences, anyway, we know that often the socioeconomic status is strictly linked to the dominant culture or to the minority culture or ethnic group. Anyway in the toolkit, the social class is taken into account (see f.i. the exercise on the page /en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/building-relationships/main). I may suggest – in addition – some papers published in the American Journal of Community Psychology by Fabricio Balcazar and Yolanda Suarez Balcazar about their studies regarding cultural competence in health professionals, as Balcazar, F. E., Suarez-Balcazar, Y., & Taylor-Ritzler, T. (2009). Cultural competence: Development of a conceptual framework. Disability and rehabilitation, 31(14), 1153-1160, or Garrido, R., Garcia-Ramirez, M., & Balcazar, F. E. (2019). Moving towards Community Cultural Competence. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 73, 89-101. The authors, F. Balcazar and Y. Suarez-Balcazar, are quoted also in Community Tool Box, Section 1 of Chapter 37, “Choosing Questions and Planning the Evaluation”.
Many wishes for your work, and let us know – if you want – the implementation of your projects!
Dear Peter
thank you for your question.
You may find some useful indications in our Toolkits, in Section 2. Assessing Community Needs and Resources, on the webpage /en/assessing-community-needs-and-resources.
Besides, if you want topics more related to wellness and health services, you can see Section 7. Ten Essential Public Health Services /en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/ten-essential-public-health-services/main.
About your specification “in my state”: generally, mental health needs involve many typologies of population. If you refer to your community’s needs, I think that my first indication (Section 2) will be useful for you. If you instead refer to the facilities or the norms in force in your state, you might compare people’s needs with services provided by your state.
Hoping to have been useful, best wishes for your work!
Dear Joe,
your interest in managing cultural diversities are really valuable. Such an issue is at the base of our work as community psychologists.
In the Community Tool Box, I suggest the whole Chapter 27. “Cultural Competence in a Multicultural World”, and, in particular, Section 2. “Building Relationships with People from Different Cultures”, the Main Section /en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/building-relationships/main and the related Tools /en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/building-relationships/tools
I find of interest also Section 4. “Strategies and Activities for Reducing Racial Prejudice and Racism”, where, as a tool, there is a PowerPoint presentation, very useful, which may be uploaded, on the page /en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/reduce-prejudice-racism/powerpoint
I suggest you as well Section 7. “Building Culturally Competent Organizations”, and its Tools /en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culturally-competent-organizations/main
In each Main Section, Print Resources are indicated, so you can – if you want – analyze thoroughly the matter with further readings.
Many compliments for your awareness and sensitiveness and many wishes for your work!
Dear James
your question includes two aspects, I suppose. The first one (and the main one) is related to the transformation of a volunteer organization in a state wide project. For this purpose, you may see CHAPTER 9. DEVELOPING AN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE FOR THE INITIATIVE on the webpage /en/table-of-contents/structure/organizational-structure; SECTION 3. DEVELOPING MULTISECTOR TASK FORCES OR ACTION COMMITTEES FOR THE INITIATIVE /en/table-of-contents/structure/organizational-structure/multisector-task-forces/main (see also our tools, as Checklist and PowerPoint), and CHAPTER 11, SECTION 3. DEVELOPING VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION PROGRAMS /en/table-of-contents/structure/volunteers/orientation-programs/main
About the training: you may use the online support for the preliminary information and for monitoring, but for a more professional training classroom setting and face-to-face relationships are surely preferable.
The second aspect may be related to the specific issue – homelessness – and, in this regard, Community Tool Box has a lot of suggestions: CHAPTER 6, SECTION 15. CREATING FACT SHEETS ON LOCAL ISSUES – EXAMPLES 5 ( National Coalition for the Homeless) /en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest/fact-sheets/example; CHAPTER 26, SECTION 3. PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR ALL – EXAMPLES /en/table-of-contents/implement/physical-social-environment/affordable-housing/main; and, finally, within Community Stories (/en/community-stories) you can see as an example WORKING TO REDUCE THE RECIDIVISM OF HOMELESSNESS IN MICHIGAN /en/south-oakland-shelter-homelessness
Many wishes for your changing organization!
Thank you for your comment about the Community Tool Box that you recently posted. We appreciate both your taking the time to write us, as well as your comment itself. It is important.
You refer to an Advisory Board, but the Tool Box presently does not have one. Those who are involved are described in the “Who We Are” section of the Tool Box, at /en/who-we-are.
It might be that you were referring to the Advisors in our Ask an Advisor feature; these are the people who answer our questions, and whom you wrote to. If that’s the case, we try to see that our Advisors are diverse and representative of the people we serve. For example, one of our four advisors scheduled for 2020 is an African-American research scholar, from North Carolina.
The Community Tool Box itself also contains 11 separate sections of text on Cultural Competence in a Multicultural World, the majority of which have been written by an Asian-American. And since the majority of our readership now actually comes from outside of North America, it’s essential that we be culturally sensitive in our work.
So in developing content, we collaborate with global partners across the world. One recent example was the development of an African Action Toolkit, designed to offer guidance for addressing health and development goals on the African continent. You can view it at https://who-afro.ctb.ku.edu/
Having said this much, we’re sure we can improve. And we want to improve. Specifically, when we recruit for people to be Advisors in 2021 (over the summer), we will aim to make a more vigorous effort to recruit people of color. I will also forward your comment to our Tool Box team.
Beyond that, we welcome suggestions from you and others on specific steps you believe we ought to take to improve, keeping in mind that we have very limited resources to do all the things we would like to do. If you have such suggestions, please write us outside of the Ask an Advisor system, at toolbox@ku.edu, and we will aim to respond as best we can.
Many thanks again for writing, and all best wishes for continued success in your own work.
Dear Chris
many thanks for your interesting question.
About the topic: in Chapter 2 - ”Other Models for Promoting Community Health and Development”, Section 9 is precisely devoted to “community readiness” /en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/community-readiness/main Community readiness is related to the degree to which a community is ready to take action on an issue. This topic, and the suggested tools, revealed their usefulness in addressing matters related to climate change or ecological disasters.
See also Section 18, “PACE EH: Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health” /en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/PACE-EH/main It refers to a US project, but its features – I think – may be applied also in other countries.
About experiences in UK: you may find indications in Toolkit 11 “Influencing Policy Development”, Example 3 “Road Injury Traffic Prevention Policy Development in the UK” /en/influencing-policy-development/examples/example3 Surely the issue is different, but you may have some ideas for working in a local community with the aim to impact also to national and local policies.
Many wishes for your work and many compliments for your commitment to environmental issues!
Dear Jennifer thank you for your question. In CTB, Chapter 2. “Other Models for Promoting Community Health and Development”, there is a whole Section devoted to MAP-IT, Section 14. "MAP-IT: A Model for Implementing Healthy People 2020", on the web page /en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/map-it/main Perhaps there is not a specific paragraph about falls and their impact; nevertheless, there are a lot of examples and suggested tools, so we think that you will find some ideas for your community with elderly people. Many wishes for your work!
Dear Amee'ra I may suggest you – first of all – to read Chapter 9 Section 1. “Organizational Structure: An Overview” /en/table-of-contents/structure/organizational-structure/overview/main Take a look also to the other sections of the same Chapter, the Checklist and the Examples. I don’t know the field of action your organization will be involved in, so it is difficult to give you more specific advice… About legal documents: legal rules may be different in the different local areas. Perhaps you have to ask a consultant with expertise in non-profit organizations. It is the more reliable help for you in a crucial time as the beginning of an activity. Or, meanwhile, you can look within nonprofit organizations in your context for someone who may be a “peer-support” for you (and who might be also a future partner for your projects). Many wishes for your work!
Dear Nicholas, you don’t specify the kind of organization and the event or activity you would want to be sponsored. Anyway, Community Tool Box may have some useful indications for you, f.i. in Chapter 46 Planning for sustainability, and particularly in Section 3. Promoting Adoption of the Initiative's Mission and Objectives, on the web page /en/table-of-contents/sustain/long-term-sustainability/promote-adoption-of-mission/main There are operational ideas also in Chapter 33 Conducting a Direct Action Campaign /en/table-of-contents/advocacy/direct-action/letters-to-elected-officials/main which may be interesting if you need to contact possible sponsors for funding a particular event. Best greetings, and wishes for your organization!
Dear Scott Thank you for your message. There isn’t, at present, an “official” way to quote a Chapter of CTB in MLA (Modern Language Association) style, often used for literature, language, or arts. If you use APA style, the correct citation (as in the answer provided on March 29, 2019) for the whole CTB is: Community Tool Box (Year, Month Date Published). Tools to change our world. Center for Community Health and Development. University of Kansas. Retrieved from: /en. For a specific Chapter (in your case Chapter 27): Community Tool Box (Year, Month, Date Published). Tools to change our world. Chapter 27, Section [add the Section, if you want]. Center for Community Health and Development. University of Kansas. Retrieved from: /en. Nevertheless, you can turn it in MLA style, in this order: Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Source." Title of Container, other contributors, version, numbers, publisher, publication date, location. Best greetings!
Dear Ashley thank you very much for your question, and for your concern and your sensitivity towards women suffering for such problems, and who would participate in the group. I think that in Community Tool Box you can find useful indications in this section: » Learn a Skill » Toolkits » 10. Advocating for Change » Examples » Example 8: Together for Girls: Working to end sexual violence /en/advocating-change/examples/example8 Moreover, in community psychology journals, we can find many projects, research, and interventions about the serious problem regarding gender violence. Just to give you some examples, I may cite: Estefan, L. F., Armstead, T. L., Rivera, M. S., Kearns, M. C., Carter, D., Crowell, J., ... & Daniels, B. (2019). Enhancing the national dialogue on the prevention of intimate partner violence. American journal of community psychology, 63(1-2), 153-167. Sharkey, J. D., Reed, L. A., & Felix, E. D. (2017). Dating and sexual violence research in the schools: Balancing protection of confidentiality with supporting the welfare of survivors. American journal of community psychology, 60(3-4), 361-367. And, about European experiences (in Europe there are important laws for contrasting such issue): Stoyanova, V. (2019). On the Bride’s side? Victims of domestic violence and their residence rights under EU and Council of Europe Law. Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 37(4), 311-335. Many wishes for your important project!
Dear Teri I suppose that you are interested in how to propose bottom-up changes in the community. Is it right? If so, I can suggest you see: - Chapter 1. Our Model for Community Change and Improvement on the webpage /en/table-of-contents/overview/model-for-community-change-and-improvement and, particularly, Section 8. Some Lessons Learned on Community Organization and Change /en/table-of-contents/overview/model-for-community-change-and-improvement/lessons-learned/main Among the toolkits, I think that may be interesting for you Toolkit 4. Developing a Framework or Model of Change /en/4-developing-framework-or-model-change I hope to have met your needs… Many wishes for your work!
Dear George thank you for your interest in our suggestions! About your question (which is not right on community psychology, but rather on community help…!), I think that perhaps there are a lot of people who want to give old books to a community library… you can publish some announcements in public places (cafés, schools, or similar) or on social networks (if you think that people are linked with). Besides, you may ask publishers: sometimes they have unsold copies of books which may be useful for you. How to organize such an action? in Community Tool Box suggestions for social marketing are provided, in Chapter 45. Social Marketing of Successful Components of the Initiative, on the webpage /en/table-of-contents/sustain/social-marketing and Toolkit 13 Implementing Social Marketing, /en/implement-social-marketing-effort It is even possible that this would be the first step for good community engagement for future programs! Best wishes
Dear Sherelle thank you for your question. It is a pleasure to receive requests from professionals working in other fields! Probably in CTB, you will not find a specific program for the elderly, as a dental program… nevertheless Chapter 24. “Improving Services”, and particularly its Section 7. “Developing and Increasing Access to Health and Community Services” may be useful for you. It is on the webpage /en/table-of-contents/implement/improving-services/access-health-and-community-services/examples and it is focused on poor residents, but you can find some ideas. Many wishes for your program! elderly people in your community are lucky to have a dental hygienist like you…
Dear Paul
thanks for your compliments.
Surely a community psychology point of view may be useful for your work. If you want to see other projects on mental health, in CTB there are lots of suggestions: for instance Chapter 5. “Choosing Strategies to Promote Community Health and Development”, on the page /en/table-of-contents-community-assessment/choosing-strategies-to-promote-community-health-and-development You can look to all its Sections, both those on strategies, community development, social planning… and those about coalitions building, an issue that is related to the aims of your internship.
If you want, instead, to be in touch with other PhD students in community psychology, so to sharing ideas with them… it is quite difficult because CTB hasn’t (at least so far) similar possibilities... You may ask professors of your university (in Montréal or in France) if there are links or networks among students involved in such topics.
Dear Dipesh Prasad
I imagine that your question refers to a great community problem. Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to help you... We don’t know the local situation and the local urban planning rules. I may suggest you act no with an individual claim, but rather to build a collective movement among all the citizens about this issue.
In the Community Tool Box, you may find several resources, like “Chapter 33. Conducting a Direct Action Campaign” (/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/direct-action ) and Toolkit 10. “Advocating for Change” (/en/advocating-change), where you can get a lot of suggestions, checklists, examples, and tools.
Please let us know if our advice may be useful,
best wishes for your action!
Dear Linda
many thanks for your compliments regarding CBT resources.
About your doubts: I don’t know the rationale for the question pointed out, and perhaps it is not written to trip you up…
I can imagine, to my knowledge, that “Mobilize interest groups to explore and recommend alternatives” is better because this kind of action is directly addressed to people who will use such facilities (first of all young people). You may look for some indication in Chapter 6. “Communications to Promote Interest” (on the webpage /en/table-of-contents/participation/promoting-interest) and Chapter 7. “Encouraging Involvement in Community Work” (/en/table-of-contents/participation/encouraging-involvement). For each chapter, see also the related sections.
We don’t know how old are young people mentioned in the question. Perhaps they are adolescents or young adults, so able to know their needs.
From a community psychology point of view, a program may help them to become aware of their needs. Parents are surely important and crucial for minors, but perhaps, if older, it may be preferable to address our attempts directly to them, so to empower them as citizens. Subsequently, parents may be involved as significant stakeholders, taking into account their opinions, which may be in line with the juvenile ones, or not (and then social workers will have to mediate). The question talks about “interest groups”, which means young people, but also parents and teachers and other people without limitations.
Hoping to have been useful,
best wishes for your studies!
Dear Tobi
thank you for your message.
I think that in Chapter 23. “Modifying Access, Barriers, and Opportunities » and particularly in Section 5. “Increasing Access for People with Physical Disabilities” on the page /en/table-of-contents/implement/access-barriers-opportunities/increase-access-disabilities/tools you may find some useful ideas for breaking the barriers! there are examples, tools, and a summarizing PowerPoint
Many wishes for your work!
sorry for the misunderstanding, but we didn’t know the context and what kind of people was involved in changing the facilities (young people are now in detention?) You say that they were parents. Ok.
So, I think that the rationale of the right answer (a) may be both the first part of the answer (interest groups) and also the second part – as you say – to explore and recommend alternatives. We may start with groups already interested and committed to, as not only parents (sometimes no committed), but also professionals, prison reform advocates or citizens. Personally, I think that also young people under criminal proceedings may be an interest group to be involved in exploring alternatives, but this is my opinion and perhaps another matter.
Hoping to have been more clear, and more useful
best wishes!
Dear Tamara
thank you for your question, which gives us the opportunity to share the difficulty in writing something very far from our competences as psychologists! the first time I had to do it, I was terrified… nevertheless, it is important to learn it because we have to write a business plan every time we apply for an institutional grant…
In Community Tool Box we have provided some tools. You can see the whole Chapter 42.” Getting Grants and Financial Resources” /en/table-of-contents/finances/grants-and-financial-resources, and particularly Section 2. “Creating a Business Plan” /en/table-of-contents/finances/grants-and-financial-resources/business-plan/main. Among the tools, there is a SAMPLE BALANCE SHEET, and a SAMPLE FORECASTED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND RETAINED EARNINGS.
I hope it will be helpful for you.
Many wishes to you and to the massage therapist you are helping!
Dear Brazzlie
many thanks for your interest in Community Tool Box.
Perhaps you don’t find something just specifically devoted to elderly abuse, however, on our website, there are a lot of suggestions for building a strong community committee.
I may suggest you, among our resources, Chapter 5. “Choosing Strategies to Promote Community Health and Development” on the web page /en/table-of-contents-community-assessment/choosing-strategies-to-promote-community-health-and-development, and in particular Section 5. “Coalition Building I: Starting a Coalition” /en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/start-a-coaltion/main, and then the following Section 6, on Maintaining a Coalition.
I think that you will find useful ideas for your project.
Greetings!
