Community Needs Assessment Plan Goals and Data Sources

Running head: ASSESSMENT 1

ASSESSMENT 7

Name: Faiileono Tiumalu Comment by Vania J. Bright: Hi, Faiileono! You are on the right track but this document lacks precision. Your task was to identify ACTUAL stakeholders. Additionally, where are the people themselves located? Where does the Native Hawaiian voice come in?

Course: HUMN 6785

Professor:Dr. Vania Cox

Problem Statement.

Poverty in Hawaii is considered to have begun since the era of colonization of the whitesWhite Europeans and eventually the United States. The most affected persons were the Native citizens, who are now recorded as having the highest rate of poverty in Hawaii. Most of the Native Hawaiians are homeless and unemployed, mainly because they have lower-than-average family incomes (CITE). Additionally, poor economic management also plays a significant role in the rising cases of poverty in Hawaii (CITE). Comment by Vania J. Bright: you were focusing on Oahu, and now you are mentioning Hawaii, do you mean the full state or do you mean just the island? I recommend retaining your focus on the island of Oahu only for this project. Comment by Vania J. Bright: Be precise in your language. I did a quick search online and found this: Native Hawaiians, the indigenous residents of the islands, are overrepresented in the homeless population. Of the 4,448 people facing homelessness on the island of Oahu, 51% identified as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) despite accounting for only 10% of the population​2,3​. You need to do your own research and write with precision. Comment by Vania J. Bright: This needs a citation. Where did some of your original stuff go, like from the first assignment?

Diverse Community Team.

It is crucial to identify and assemble a diverse community team to alleviate poverty. The community team selected in the report is representative of different sectors (Ozor & Nwankwo, 2008). All the members have an active role in the assessment process and ensure that the community has equitable access and is empowered to reduce poverty. Examples of stakeholders to include on the community team are:

Faith leader- While reviewing the government's work on poverty alleviation, it is essential to consider the significant contribution of faith groups. Faith leaders are known to have a better understanding and can relate to the world more effectively. They are a distinctive part of civil society with diverse beliefs, sustainability, trust, and values. Faith leaders have various roles and responsibilities towards poverty reduction. This includes empowering and accountability. Faith leaders act as advocates who can empower the people, so their voices are heard when decisions that impact their lives are taken. Additionally, faith leaders can build support for the development and global advocacy. This is essential in alleviating poverty. They can pressure the governments and influence public opinion. Faith leaders can also create a national and international coalition of activists. Comment by Vania J. Bright: Identify a Diverse Community Team. Using the internet and/or your connections from working in the community, identify approximately 8–10 cross-discipline stakeholders that you would propose for your team Comment by Vania J. Bright: Who, exactly? Just one, or more than one?

Law enforcer- Law enforcers can alleviate poverty by empowering the poor with particular regard for the weak and vulnerable such as women, disabled persons, and children. A law enforcer has an understanding of the rule of law (Hackmann, 2012). Furthermore, they can provide equal and equitable access to justice and tackle the root cause of poverty. Hence, a law enforcer mainly acts as a consultant. The role and responsibilities include ensuring that the existing laws protect and uphold the rights of the poor. Usually, the laws are costly for the poor to access and ambiguous. Hence, by promoting legal empowerment, they protect the poor and enable them to use the law to fight for their rights and interests. Comment by Vania J. Bright: Be precise. What type of law enforcer? And why a law enforcer, if you’ve noticed that it is the colonizer’s laws that have led to the problem?

Community health workers - They advocate for individual and community health needs (Madi et al., 2007). Also, they can act as consultants by helping the poor patient overcomes the challenges preventing access to healthcare. They are equipped with interpersonal skills, advocacy skills, and service coordination skills. Similarly, they link the vulnerable populations such as low-income individuals and healthcare providers. Comment by Vania J. Bright: Be precise.

Neighborhood/ Local council representatives- Local councilors are the most common type of local authority and are elected in the local elections by the public. Council representative acts as a liaison of the councils, which they are appointed. They work together with the local businesses and local people and agree on delivering critical services to the community. Their primary role and responsibility are to achieve financial and technical assistance to alleviating poverty by liaising between governmental and non-governmental institutions. They act as consultants. Comment by Vania J. Bright: What neighborhoods?

Civic leader- This individual is a leader in municipal affairs. They promote actions associated with social participation and democratic governance. Hence, they participate at the church and the government level. They can alleviate poverty by pushing for profound social change and economic reforms. Similarly, they promote services to the poor individuals in the community and advocate for sustainable development. They play both the role of consultants and advocates.

Local advocates- They are concerned with the welfare of the community. They actively participate in the activities of the community. Hence, they are also identified as community activists. Local advocates play a crucial role in alleviating poverty. They help the government see the value of taking specific measures that help the poor.

Consequently, local advocates fight for the rights of the poor. The local government is influential because they can support and recommend policies to promote economic empowerment at the local government, which is closest to the people. Additionally, the local advocates help the poor, and oppressed persons find their voice. Consequently, they play the role of advocates.

Local business leader – This is an individual in a position of power, motivating a team to achieve a common goal. Since they encourage and motivate the employees to achieve the business objective, they are skilled in problem-solving. Hence, they can alleviate poverty by being at the forefront of implementing strategies that create employment opportunities. They can mobilize and guide the community members and facilitate solutions that will make the community thrive. They play the role of both advocates and consultants.

Hospital administrators- They are responsible for creating and maintain policies. Similarly, they contribute to the public relations activities like community health planning and fundraising. They can alleviate poverty by ensuring that the existing resources and general facilities are accessible to the poor patients and well equipped to serve them. Hence, they can improve the patient care of the needy. Consequently, they act as both advocates and consultants.

Assembling the community team is the first crucial step. However, to ensure that the community's team efforts in alleviating poverty are successful, the assessment plan should provide adequate funding to support it and clearly define the purpose and capacity of the team members. Similarly, the assessment plan should also clearly identify the potential barriers to success and create a plan to overcome them.

References

Hackmann, C. (2012). Legal empowerment of the poor and its relation to pro-poor growth. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/poverty-reduction-and-pro-poor-growth/legal-empowerment-of-the-poor-and-its-relation-to-pro-poor-growth_9789264168350-10-en

Madi, H. H., WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hussain, S. J., & WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. (2007). The role of health promotion in poverty reduction. In Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (Vol. 13, Issue 6, pp. 1249–1255). https://doi.org/10.26719/2007.13.6.1249

Ozor, N., & Nwankwo, N. (2008). The Role of Local Leaders in Community Development Programmes in Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State: Implication for Extension Policy. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.4314/jae.v12i2.47051