Strategies for Combating Community-Based Risk Factors

Gardner, Green, and Marcus (1994) suggest the following strategies for combating community-based risk factors:

• Cultural Enhancement Programs: These programs are "aimed at increasing minority youths' knowledge of their subculture's history, traditions, and values, and reinforcing positive cultural identity and pride. Some programs incorporate the cultural resources in their community into their cultural enhancement programs by including such activities as field trips, visits to community art exhibits and historical and religious sites, and cultural fairs for their young people." (p. 26)

• Orientation to Community Services: "Program participants have multiple health and basic life needs that must be met before prevention activities can begin. Creative ways to address these needs include assessing awareness of community services; adding program sessions designed to help participants identify and access neighborhood resources; developing a community services directory and distributing it to current and potential clients; and helping particularly needy families find support. Also needed is arranging for individuals to secure housing, financial aid, health care, child care, clothing, food, bedding, furniture, and educational, mental health, and ATOD abuse treatment services." (p. 27)

• Rites of Passage: These programs "have helped adolescents learn how to become responsible, mature members of the community. By interacting with adults under culturally prescribed circumstances, young people are exposed to positive role models and are appreciated for the unique contributions they can make. Rites of passage programs are for African-American youth, designed to increase self-esteem and self-confidence. Some facets of these programs are directed at developing community responsibility." (p. 28)

• Positive, Drug-Free Youth Groups: These programs emphasize "social and life skills development, no ATOD use, and community participation and assistance. Youth clubs, such as Boys and Girls Clubs, have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing crime and delinquency." (p. 28)

• Community Service Activities: "When young people have the opportunity to make positive contributions to their community, they feel needed and respected. [These programs] have enabled preadolescents and teens to organize crime watches, paint buildings in their neighborhoods, clean up parks, and operate soup kitchens." (p. 29)

• Community Media Education: In these programs, community members "have conducted media campaigns and issued public service announcements to raise community awareness of the ATOD abuse problem and to recruit participants and volunteers." (p. 29)

• Safe Haven Activities: "An important facet of many prevention programs is simply to provide a safe area for the young. This is particularly necessary in neighborhoods that have been taken over by gangs and drug dealers and where the youth of the community is at risk for not only ATOD use, but also its very survival." (p. 30)

• Involving the Faith Community: "The involvement of the faith community links ATOD use prevention with the moral authority of the institution as well as with the principle of spiritual health. In addition, many programs for youth at high risk find that churches are willing to offer material support, particularly in supplying meeting space. Church members are often willing volunteers." (p. 31)