CR #6: Achieving an Accurate Count Using the ABCD Model
There is a considerable difference between empowering and fixing. When someone helps another person, it ultimately highlights the resources that empowers them to succeed. When someone tries to “fix” an issue, it only further marginalizes a community as they tend to feel vulnerable against a dominant person. The essential characteristic of the ABCD model is that it focuses on highlighting the community’s talents and assets to create community-driven initiatives and local associations. Ultimately, it seeks “to encourage communities to take the lead by identifying and utilizing their assets, which include both skills, talents, and relations” (Mathie, and Cunningham 476). The collective work between community-based organizations, private enterprises, and the government ultimately fosters community-focus and driven initiatives. The ABCD model places community members as designers and leaders of the community rather than solely receivers of programs.
The Community Economic Development model (CED) differs from the ABCD model as outsiders have full control of implementing initiatives that they assume will be beneficial for economic development. The CED model is “a strategy that includes a wide range of economic activities and programs for developing low-income communities” (Clay and Jones 257). This model places community members as observers as they only observe how others implement programs for them rather than making them active participants. Ultimately, this model is necessary because it focuses on capital assets, which is crucial to implement programs. Still, it also deprives community members of feeling empowered to battle the issues affecting their community.
Currently, I conduct my service-learning at an adult ESL program in the Canal community. This community site possesses significant assets in their social capital. Social capital refers to “the particular talents of individuals, as well as the social capital inherent in the relationships that fuel local associations and informal networks” (Mathie, and Cunningham 474). Some of the assets that this community seems to utilize efficiently are human relationships, memberships, credentials, knowledge, and proper social behaviors. The clients who receive services from this nonprofit organization have great relationships with each other and other members of the community. Although this organization primarily serves the Latino community, it also serves a small portion of the Vietnamese population. Although these two groups speak different languages and cultural assets, they still find ways to interact and connect. They might not be able to have a full conversation, but they are both supporting each other in gaining English proficiency. Another asset that this organization possesses its membership. Instead of community members feeling like they belong to only one organization, they feel a sense of belonging to the greater Canal community. Being part of the Canal community ultimately leads to accessing different memberships throughout partner community sites, which widens their networks. The combination of human relationships and memberships across organizations in the Canal community gives insiders access to many community members in hard-to-count community members. If 2020 Census Promotors were leveraged from this community, 2020 Census awareness would increase as information would be transferred through these multiple memberships. Also, through qualitative interviews, I realized that some members of the community held enumerator credentials in their home country. Their credentials and knowledge of the importance of participating in the census can help guide the community into making an educated choice in participating in the 2020 Census. The census process in Latin America is very similar to the United States.
Most importantly, their knowledge of the census allows these community members to realize the importance of achieving an accurate count and ultimately design initiatives that resonate with their community. Lastly, these community members possess proper social behaviors, that even some trusted messengers lack — insiders’ knowledge and understanding of fears and distrust toward home and foreign country’s governments. The community members’ awareness of these fears and distrusts allows them to understand the behaviors that are needed to promote the census. Ultimately, to reach this hard-to-count community, there needs to be a balance of sharing information, while allowing them to participate. If someone seems too pushy, then hard-to-count members can become fearful and reluctant to participate. These members who possess proper social behaviors can have the right balance in talking to this population. Based on these assets, I would suggest the nonprofit organization with whom I do my service-learning to conduct an ABCD model approach to increase participation in the 2020 Census. As of right now, the focus is on trusted messengers who possess the linguistic and cultural skills to reach these communities. However, we could increase the opportunity to achieve an accurate count by leveraging the assets that the Canal community already holds.
Clay, Roger and Susan Jones “A Brief History of Community Economic Development.” Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law. Vol. 18, №3 (Spring 2009),257–267.
Mathie, Alison and Gord Cunningham. “From Clients to Citizens: Asset-Based Community Development as a Strategy for Community-Driven Development.” Development in Practice. Vol. 13, №5 (Nov., 2003), 474–486.
