CR #6: Strength in Numbers?
The ABCD model is a focus on viewing communities for their assets rather than their deficiencies and looking at how to harness those assets to make change in the community. This approach is opposite to that of a need-based one. A needs-based view can be negative because it only looks at fixing, not appreciating what is already done and well. ABCD is attractive because members of the community can identify their own assets to create their own opportunities; a development that is community-driven. It would focus on the assets of individuals, as well as assets of the whole. Key characteristics of ABCD include ideas of appreciative inquiry, social capital, and community economic development (CED). Appreciative inquiry focuses on “peak experiences and successes of the past” (478) to focus on positive change. This would be done through interviews and investigations of past events. Social Capital, as described by Mathie and Cunningham, is “the store of goodwill and obligations generated by social relations” (479). Part of ABCD is treating social relationships as aspects and recognizing that who you know is important and necessary. Social capital thus becomes important for the growth and development of a community. In contrast, the CED model relies on “theoretical contributions of community development than on those of economics, which fails to recognize the concept of community at all” (481). This is essentially the economic development of a certain community. In the ABCD perspective it is seen as, “the by-product of the economic success of individuals (481). Therefore, each individual’s economic success is valued for the greater success of the community.
At the Parent Services Project (PSP) in the Canal, the community has a good amount of resources available to them. Not only does PSP have services to help with child development and parent leadership, but there are also organizations like Canal Alliance that provide people in the Canal several informative resources like English classes and social services. Some of PSP’s assets are that they have funding to provide resources such as playgroup, they educate families on parenting and child development, and have a large Spanish-speaking population that they can tailor their programs to. Other assets are the relationships within the community. At PSP, they are able to work with Canal Alliance, with local firefighters to come and talk to children, and local show artists that are all willing to come together to provide information or put on a show at playgroup. The social capital that is built in the neighborhood becomes a large asset for pooling together ways to strengthen their community. Looking ahead, there could be more funding for local organizations like PSP or Canal Alliance because they recognize needs, but also work to strengthen positive feats already in place. For example, it may not always been seen as positive or a strength to have a Latinx community because they are not “American,” but places like PSP acknowledge and affirm the people that they represent by encouraging Latinx/Hispanic culture celebrations.
In regards to census recruitment, if we phrase questions such as, “I know you guys are good in this aspect, so what can we do to help you strengthen it?” Then we may be more easily able to appeal and reach out to communities. To be more specific with my community, one question recruiters could ask is about how we can better acknowledge and strengthen the Latinx cultural community. What resources should we have that would help you feel more in touch with your own culture? These questions could be asked rather than focusing on possible weakness like English. By focusing on the positive features instead of negative ones, then it may catch the attention of more people.
