Building Communities

Policymakers and funders of poverty alleviation programs have come to recognize that strategies focusing on "building community," or enhancing supportive relationships, may be the most effective in moving entire communities of people toward self sufficiency. While affordable housing, job training skills and related social services are essential, it is clear that programs such as ours can be made more effective if we recognize and enhance community building efforts based on trust and mutual support.

The term "community" is often used very loosely. Definitions vary widely from the people in a neighborhood to those of a particular ethnicity to even those with a common concern, such as the environmental community. Policymakers and funders are often the first to define a particular community. Yet, for people working to get out of poverty, "community" would be best defined by the people themselves based on what they along with their families and friends identify as their common values.

Welfare-to-work moms do not all see themselves as one community, yet they are treated as such by many policymakers and funders. Funding for services is provided for these women, excluding others who they see as their real community. Our agency has had a number of situations where a woman is able to qualify for our carpentry training program, but her boyfriend or husband is unable to meet the specific criteria determined by funders. When she does extremely well and moves to a well-paying union construction job, her partner becomes jealous and insecure with the thought that she might leave the relationship. She would then come under threats or abuse, a situation that could also threaten her job stability. If you were to ask the moms what issue is most important to them, their families and their friends, they would say job opportunities and support services for themselves, their partners and other peers whom they may need to rely on to stay self- sufficient for the long term.

We must find the communities within the communities. Faith-based groups are a good example of strong, self-defined communities. Members of the same congregation have different missions defined by the members of each local church. Cultural or family associations are an example of self-defined groups derived from larger ethnic groups. The Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association in Oakland, which does not try to address the issues of all Mien people, is within the community traditionally known as the Southeast Asian community of the Asian community. The Asian community is so diverse in terms of culture, education and economics that it is difficult to describe the needs of this group as a whole.

Initiatives to alleviate poverty would be greatly served by studying these self-defined communities and recognizing the influence that interpersonal relationships play in how people get jobs, find housing, set standards for education and deal with domestic problems. Members within a self-defined community often share common patterns of behavior. People will often gravitate to similar jobs, aspire to similar educational goals and even participate in similar recreational activities. All of us learn from our friends or others with whom we share values and trust in some way.

If social service and community organizations could identify what factors positively and negatively affect particular groups of families, we would be providing services that help individuals and families create a pattern for other families and generations to follow.

The challenge for all of us will be in identifying these communities in a more personal way, not just as a part of a neighborhood or an ethnic group. Community agencies such as ours must be flexible enough to address each community's different needs. Policymakers and funders must go beyond relying on fixed, pre-designed services. It is imperative that we recognize the communities of friends and family of our clients if we are to truly alleviate poverty.



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Trust and Mutuality Build Communities Over the 35 years Asian Neighborhood Design has been in existence, we have grown to serve ethnically diverse communities throughout the Bay Area and expanded beyond our original focus on design to include architecture, community planning, employment training, and family and youth resources. We have noticed more often than not, individuals who were the most successful in moving out of poverty were surrounded by supportive relationships. Because these relationships play such a significant role in how quickly a person could get his or her life together, we used to joke that instead of providing job skills training, our agency should just start a dating service. We have learned many things over the years, including different methods that have worked for the participants in our programs as they seek to achieve self-sufficiency. Over our years of providing services, we have learned that while everyone is different, there are certain things the work for most of our clients. Policymakers and funders of poverty alleviation programs have come to recognize that strategies focusing on "building community," or enhancing supportive relationships, may be the most effective in moving entire communities of people toward self sufficiency. While affordable housing, job training skills and related social services are essential, it is clear that programs such as ours can be made more effective if we recognize and enhance community building efforts based on trust and mutual support. The term "community" is often used very loosely. Definitions vary widely from the people in a neighborhood to those of a particular ethnicity to even those with a common concern, such as the environmental community. Policymakers and funders are often the first to define a particular community. Yet, for people working to get out of poverty, "community" would be best defined by the people themselves based on what they along with their families and friends identify as their common values. Welfare-to-work moms do not all see themselves as one community, yet they are treated as such by many policymakers and funders. Funding for services is provided for these women, excluding others who they see as their real community. Our agency has had a number of situations where a woman is able to qualify for our carpentry training program, but her boyfriend or husband is unable to meet the specific criteria determined by funders. When she does extremely well and moves to a well-paying union construction job, her partner becomes jealous and insecure with the thought that she might leave the relationship. She would then come under threats or abuse, a situation that could also threaten her job stability. If you were to ask the moms what issue is most important to them, their families and their friends, they would say job opportunities and support services for themselves, their partners and other peers whom they may need to rely on to stay self- sufficient for the long term. We must find the communities within the communities. Faith-based groups are a good example of strong, self-defined communities. Members of the same congregation have different missions defined by the members of each local church. Cultural or family associations are an example of self-defined groups derived from larger ethnic groups. The Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association in Oakland, which does not try to address the issues of all Mien people, is within the community traditionally known as the Southeast Asian community of the Asian community. The Asian community is so diverse in terms of culture, education and economics that it is difficult to describe the needs of this group as a whole. Initiatives to alleviate poverty would be greatly served by studying these self-defined communities and recognizing the influence that interpersonal relationships play in how people get jobs, find housing, set standards for education and deal with domestic problems. Members within a self-defined community often share common patterns of behavior. People will often gravitate to similar jobs, aspire to similar educational goals and even participate in similar recreational activities. All of us learn from our friends or others with whom we share values and trust in some way. If social service and community organizations could identify what factors positively and negatively affect particular groups of families, we would be providing services that help individuals and families create a pattern for other families and generations to follow. The challenge for all of us will be in identifying these communities in a more personal way, not just as a part of a neighborhood or an ethnic group. Community agencies such as ours must be flexible enough to address each community's different needs. Policymakers and funders must go beyond relying on fixed, pre-designed services. It is imperative that we recognize the communities of friends and family of our clients if we are to truly alleviate poverty.