Lessons in asset-based community development

Benjamin Trnka

This Thursday, I went to a talk in the Bowman Society lecture series with a daunting title, but which greatly related to the work that SSP has been doing this summer. The talk, entitled “Using Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) to Address Health Disparities & the Social Determinants of Health: Examples of Community & System Change Interventions” showed how asset-based community development could be put into action in a very creative and empowering way.

The speaker, Professor Aida Giachello provided tangible examples of working with community members, both on the side of research and advocacy. First, she gave the example of a rural town plagued by a nearby plant’s pollution of the environment with carcinogenic chemicals. What became part of the process was actually training the people of the town to carry out the door-to-door surveys, type them in, and ultimately present them during a press conference on behalf of the town. What I found interesting and humbling was that Dr. Giachello did not participate in the press conference at all – she had simply empowered the members of the community to make change that they could take ownership of.

Equally powerful and impressive was the creation of an anti-diabetes coalition in southern Illinois. By bringing together different members of the community over a meal, she was able to foster a connection between community members to get the ball rolling on innovative and multi-faceted approach to combating diabetes in the community – including healthy eating programs and subsidies, educational pamphlets, trained screenings, and even bumper-stickers to help advertise their cause.

The examples truly spoke to how cooperativeness and empowerment of community members and local resources can be used to create sustainable and impactful change. Good lessons for any aspiring SSPer.