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Step 1: Community Readiness and Mobilization

What are community readiness and community mobilization?

Community readiness is the extent to which a community is adequately prepared to implement a drug abuse prevention program. Community mobilization is the act of engaging all sectors of a community in a community-wide prevention effort.

Why are they important?

A community must have the support and commitment of its members and the needed resources to implement an effective prevention effort.

How do we address community readiness?

1. Review the nine stages of community readiness which can be objectively assessed and systematically enhanced based on the work by the Tri Ethnic Center.
2. Assess your community's readiness for prevention: Community readiness assessment tool
3. Implement strategies to improve your community's readiness based on work by the Tri Ethnic Center: Strategies to improve community readiness

How do we mobilize our community?

1. The benefits of community mobilization include:
   • Overcome denial of community issues and problems
   • Avoid false starts in prevention planning efforts
   • Promote local ownership and decision making
   • Encourage coordination and collaboration among individuals and organizations
   • Eliminate competition and redundancy in the provision of services
   • Provide a focus for prevention planning and implementation efforts
   • Ensure efficient resource allocation and accountability of resources
     
     
2. Engage the community through forming a coalition.
   (The following are excerpts from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Community How To Guides on Underage Drinking Prevention.)
   Forming a coalition sounds easy, but proper planning and knowledge can avoid problems in the future. Following are some suggested steps to follow in putting together a coalition.
   • Search the landscape - Before starting a coalition, determine whether similar organizations are already in existence in your community. Discuss your issues with existing coalitions to determine similarities and differences in your goals for forming a coalition.
   • Brainstorm ideas on potential participants - Create a list of people to include in the coalition effort. Also, identify potential "champions" – people who can lead the effort.
   • Determine staffing, budget, and resources - Identify the resources required to conduct the prevention planning effort. If possible, identify where the resources may be obtained.
   • Invite people to join - Ask potential members to join the coalition. Invite them to attend an organizing meeting. If possible, have the "champion" or other community leaders extend the invitation.
   • Clarify expectations - Develop a list of roles and responsibilities for coalition members. Decide what policies or criteria exist for membership.
   • Do not assume everyone understands the relevant issues - Educate the members: Clarify "what's in it for them" and how they can contribute to the coalition.
   • Develop a vision and mission statement - A vision statement describes what the community will look like if the prevention coalition is successful in its efforts. A mission statement expresses how the coalition will work to achieve the vision.
   • Define goals and objectives - Once a coalition has determined its purpose through a mission statement, the next important task is to define goals and objectives.

For more information:
A large number of organizations and publications promote steps to building a coalition. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's web-site provides excellent references on the process to build an effective coalition in the document Community How To Guides on Underage Drinking Prevention.

Next Step: Community Assessment (Needs Assessment)

For more information and tools on community readiness:

Achieving Outcomes: A Practitioner's Guide to Effective Prevention, developed by the National Center for the Advancement of Prevention (funded by the HHS SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention), Conference Edition 2002.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has available "Community Readiness for Drug Abuse Prevention: Issues, Tips and Tools." To obtain a copy, contact National Technical Information Services at (800) 553-6847 (publication number PB# 97-209605). This book is part of a 5 book packet which costs $83 plus $5 handling.

Engaging Community Representatives

In order to achieve the desired level of impact in your community, the mobilization effort must include representatives from all sectors and groups within your community.  This should include representatives from the following:

• Law Enforcement
• Education
• Youth
• Criminal Justice
• Civic Organizations
• Parents
• Faith-Based Organizations
• Elderly
• Business
• Human Service Providers
• Health Care
• Military
• Colleges and Universities
• Ethnic Groups
• Government
• Elected Officials
• Child Care Providers

For tips on recruiting, review Community How To Guides on Underage Drinking Prevention at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) web-site (click on "Coalition Building"). A complete list of potential sectors and organizations can also be found in this publication.