Town of Wake Forest, Wake County : an action-oriented community diagnosis
Creators: name: Sarris, Nikie
name: Biddlecom, Cara
name: McMahon, Melissa
name: Poole, Kasey
name: Chariyeva, Zulfiya
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2005

description: An Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD) is an assessment procedure by which outsiders learn about the quality of life and capacity of a community. The purpose of the AOCD process is to collect, analyze, and summarize perspectives of community members and service providers on the community’s existing resources, assets, and needs. This process is culminated by a community forum where community stakeholders engage in dialogue about community assets and needs, and collaborate on action steps to improve current situations. From September 2004 to April 2005, our team of five students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health completed an AOCD in the community of Wake Forest, North Carolina. Wake Forest is located in Wake County, 16 miles away from Raleigh. This community was defined by the political boundaries of the town of Wake Forest. We were guided by two co-preceptors: Regina Petteway, Director of Community Initiatives at Wake County Human Services, and Bettie Murchison, Executive Director of the DuBois Center. We conducted participant observations of community events, and collected secondary data sources on the town’s history, education, growth and development, transportation, and demographics. We conducted 20 interviews of service providers and community members and 4 focus groups of youth, seminary students, and adult community members. Our analysis from observations, secondary data, and perspectives from both service providers and community members generated the following themes in the following areas of interest: growth and development, transportation, community identity, race relations, class differences, and education. At a community forum held on April 14, 2005 in Wake Forest, we presented the theme results for discussion and to determine action steps. The following is a summary of themes and key action steps: Transportation Theme: Community members and service providers agreed that public transportation is a major need for the community. Residents without cars face great difficulty in accessing services, because many are located 16 miles away in Raleigh. Key Forum Action Step: Transportation was considered a secondary domain because it was identified in interviews but was not discussed at the forum. Instead, ideas pertaining to transportation were subsumed in the growth and development conversation. Growth and Development theme: The majority of community members and service providers felt that growth and development in Wake Forest is a positive change, however, the infrastructure necessary to sustain such growth and accommodate lower income communities is not in place. Key Forum Action Step: Form a watchdog group or citizen advisory council that is responsible for the monitoring of growth and development decisions being made by town administrators and departments, and communicating information about those decisions to the rest of the community. Community Identity Theme: Community members and service providers agreed that community pride and identity are assets to Wake Forest, but most community members and service providers interviewed would like the see the town’s pride and spirit translated into more involvement and communication. Key Forum Action Step: Form an ambassador program to provide and guide newcomers to Wake Forest with information to help newcomers find a niche in the community. Race Relations Theme: Community members and service providers agreed that racial interaction is minimal between African American, Caucasian, and Latino communities in Wake Forest. Key Forum Action Step: Form a discussion group to address and initiate race relations improvement including educating town officials and asking for donations to cover sport league fees for minority children. Class Differences Theme: Most community members and service providers felt that there is a growing socioeconomic divide in Wake Forest which hinders the provision of services as well as the sense and function of a collective community. Key Forum Action Step: Upgrade infrastructure in low income neighborhoods including home repair, improvement of sidewalks, and access to supermarkets. Education Theme: Community members and service providers were concerned about the present and future capabilities of Wake County public schools to accommodate the needs of students and families in Wake Forest. Key Forum Action Step: Educate and involve parents, community members, and town officials on school growth and planning issues, strategy options, and future Wake County school system plans through an Education Forum.