Roadblocks

FACING CONFLICT

While one could hope that this would not be an issue, it almost always will be. Whether it is opposition from other agencies, political leaders, or some other members of the community, conflict is bound to arise in almost all community interventions. (If not we would not have many issues now would we) So vital in dealing with this enormous roadblock is understanding the opposition's perspective. While it may seem as if others oppose simply to make things difficult for us, they have their reasons as well. So the main goal is to figure out what there strongest objections are going to be. The optimal outcome would be to join forces with the opposition, and have the same ideas, but that is not probable in most situations. So while we may disagree with these objections, they need to be taken into consideration, if we can cater to these objections while still achieving our goals, positive change will take place. The other important tenant in facing opposition is making sure your own group is united. In order to successfully overcome adversity, as a group, that group must be free from dissension. Before tackling issues or opponents, groups need to make sure their own internal systems are working together. The idea of community interventions is to bring the community together, a great way to promote that is to lead by example.

MONEY

Money is always going to be a monumental issue in our field of work. Because a huge majority of the work we do is on a non-profit basis, funds are not typically the easiest to come by. Therefore the most important tasks in fighting this roadblock are somewhat simple, devise a plan to acquire funds. These could come from government grants, private donors, or community partnerships. While this is somewhat of a given, another important task that falls into this category is assuring that the message lives on, even after the program disappears. The way I interpret this effort is to use the initial and available funds, to assure that you are making a long lasting effect on the target population. Making sure the message lives on even after funding, is most important.


HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

While this seemingly is what our jobs are supposed to be, to solve problems, sometimes solutions are not as easy as they seem. It takes serious planning and evaluation to build a successful intervention, especially when the funds are short. Sometimes you may only have one opportunity to make a lasting change in a community, you may not have the benefit of trial and error. So proper planning is necessary, from a detailed business plan, to a structural outline of goals and objectives, it is impossible to "wing-it" when making change of this magnitude. The other important aspect of this is to get as much community involvement as possible. While we are the professionals, the community knows best what the issue is, and how it could be best tackled.