West Chatham County : an action-oriented community assessment : findings and next steps of action
Creators: name: Lanham, Michele
name: Murphy, Josh
name: Behrend, Lindy
name: Seavers, Deanndria
name: Lord, Elynor
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2006

description: This paper details the Action-Oriented Community Assessment (AOCA) of West Chatham County conducted from October 2005 through April 2006 by five graduate students in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. The project was conducted in partnership with the Chatham County Community Health Assessment Team and another student team working in the eastern side of the county, and was guided by three field advisors from the Chatham County Public Health Department and Chatham Habitat for Humanity. The field advisors helped initiate contacts within the community and offered guidance and advice throughout the process. The AOCA is designed to assess a community’s strengths and needs as identified by those in the community and to encourage service providers and community members to take action to address identified needs. To gain an understanding of the community, the team began the process by attending community events and collecting secondary data. The team interviewed a total of thirty-three service providers and community members about their perspectives on important issues in West Chatham, and held a community forum on April 28, 2006, to present results on the following five topics: infrastructure planning, communication, recreation, division and diversity, and service barriers for Latinos. Detailed below are the themes presented at the forum and the action steps that emerged to address these issues. Population growth has lead to a need for better planning for resources and infrastructure, especially water and sewage. 1. Members of the group will create a grassroots education project on the issue of water. 2. Members of the group will encourage people to attend Board of Commissioners meetings through advertisements at churches. 3. Members of the group will encourage the County and municipalities to work together. The lack of common communication sources creates disparities in knowledge about programs, services, and social activities. 1. Members of the group will consult with business leaders about the cost-effectiveness of producing part of the Chatham News/Chatham Record in Spanish and then approach the editor/owner of the newspaper to discuss. 2. A member of the group will investigate adding news that is broadcast in English on WNCA to the Spanish radio broadcast at WNCA. 3. Members of the group will promote the recent upgrade of WNCA to 5000 watts on the Chatham Schools website (http://www.chatham.k12.nc.us/). 4. A member of the group will send letters to all the churches in Chatham County. The messages to be included in the letter were undecided. West Chatham County needs additional resources, such as land and funding, for recreational facilities, which could serve as a gathering place for community members as well as a place for physical activity. 1. Group members committed to creating a task force with diverse representation of all racial groups to use as a space for individuals to voice recreation needs. a. Include people from School Board, Board of Commissioners, Recreation Department, and recreation coaches. b. Investigate funding opportunities. c. Lobby for recreational needs of specific groups and county as a whole. The lack of interaction between racial/ethnic groups contributes to misunderstanding and divisions between these groups. 1. Group members will organize a diversity task force. 2. Create an in-depth “dismantling racism” program and encourage as a required training for government employees and people in the education system. Language barriers continue to restrict Latinos’ access to services. 1. Approach service providers and identify their needs for bilingual communication. 2. Involve county commissioners to increase bilingual signs in the county. 3. Invite the Adult Basic Skills Coordinator to be a part of the group that is interested in reducing language barriers. 4. Make ESL classes more accessible through additional training, advertising, transportation, and childcare. a. Contact Chatham churches about starting classes and offering a basic curriculum. This document details the West Chatham AOCA process and results and is intended to serve as a resource for the Chatham County Public Health Department, the Community Health Assessment Team, and other service providers and community members in Chatham County. It is divided into five sections: Introduction, Findings, Community Forum, Methodology, and Limitations, Recommendations, and Conclusion. It is the team’s hope that service providers and community members will use information in the document to inform current and future program planning, and continue to build upon the many positive efforts occurring in West Chatham.