2. Developing
The Community
2.1 Ensure Broad
Community Participation
Broad
community participation is a key component of mental health
promotion. Because the factors that affect mental health are
so diverse, any effort to promote mental health should encompass
that diversity by encouraging the participation of a wide
range of community members. Mental health promotion works
by encouraging effective community participation in setting
priorities, making decisions and planning, implementing and
evaluating strategies to achieve better mental health.
Why Should You
Ensure Broad Participation?
Connecting
people both to one another, and to the issue is a critical
component of empowerment.
When communities members are actively engaged with one another
and with community life, a series of interlocking relationships
are formed that become not only a support for individuals,
but also a resource for the entire community.
Participants
in successful mental health promotion initiatives find out
experientially that they can make a difference, be heard,
and that a group of diverse people can constructively address
complex mental health issues.
Our communities
are made up of people from a broad range of cultures and abilities.
In many cases, culture provides people with a sense of identity
and belonging, nurturing and supporting community life.
People
from distinct cultural groups have different perspectives,
experiences, expectations, knowledge, and other qualities
and attributes. These differences can become a source of conflict
and division if they are disregarded, but they can become
a source of richness and strength when they are recognized
and valued. By appreciating diversity, you will communicate
more effectively, make more relevant decisions, and take advantage
of a broader range of insights and talents.
In order
to ensure broad community participation, we must recognize
that everyone has some preconceived notions about people who
are different from themselves, in terms of culture, ability,
etc. It is important to overcome these so that people feel
at ease participating in the group.
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The
Inclusion project took place in five different sites
across Ontario, from major urban centres like Ottawa,
to Forest a small, mainly rural community. In Forest.,
CMHA staff organized a community forum that brought
together a variety of different people to discuss mental
health issues of concern to the community. During that
initial forum, a number of people from the community
expressed their interest in being members of a steering
committee to guide the development of a community mental
health promotion initiative.
The
committee was composed of a wide range of people: consumer/survivors,
members of the local clergy, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
people, staff from the local community health centre,
recreation centre, and community college, as well as
farmers and family members. By getting together on a
regular basis and discussing the barriers in the community
for people with mental illness, the group identified
that the stigma surrounding mental illness posed one
of the greatest barriers to the inclusion of consumer/survivors
in the community. The diverse nature of the group helped
to ensure that the project would be truly representative
of the community.
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How Do You Ensure
Broad Participation?
Support
the participation of all people
If you
want to have a diverse group of people committed to your
project, it’s important to support their participation.
Make sure the project is accessible to people from ethnocultural
and disability communities by providing practical support
such as transit allowances and making sure meetings are
held in accessible locations, and during times that are
convenient for everyone.
Think
about significant dates and holidays for the different ethnocultural
groups in your community so you don’t schedule meetings
on these dates.
Communicate clearly
Effective
communication is also an important part of supporting people’s
participation. Avoid using jargon, and make sure that everyone
understands what’s being said. Act quickly on any input
that people provide about making the project more supportive
of diversity.
Use your networks
Start
with people you know. It will be easier to talk to and interest
people with whom you already have some relationship.
Find
out what other organizations, groups and individuals are
active in your community who share some of the same concerns,
and get in touch with them. You may be able to form partnerships
that benefit you both.
Go to where people
are
Instead
of trying to get people to come to you, try going to them.
Go to the meetings of other groups and to places and events
where people gather. This is particularly important if you’re
trying to involve different cultural and ethnic groups,
youth, seniors and others who may not come to you.
Ask members to
invite others
Most
community volunteers become involved because they were asked
to participate by a friend, a family member, or a neighbour.
Create newsletters
and leaflets
Newsletters
keep group members in touch. Delivering leaflets to a wide
range of neighbourhoods will help you to attract new members.
2.
Developing the Community - 2.2
Create collaborative partnerships >
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