Identify A Problem Or Concern In Your Community, Organization
Assignment: Problem Or Concern In a Community
Identify A Problem Or Concern In Your Community, Organization

As you have discovered through this course, nurses are influential members of the community and the political system. Therefore, for the purposes of this assignment you will identify a problem or concern in your community, organization, etc. that has the capacity to be legislated.

You will conduct research and state a proposal. Through the legislative process, your proposal for the problem or concern may influence an idea for change into a law.

First, refer to the “How a Bill Becomes a Law” media.

Then, view the “Bill to Law Process” to watch the scenario.

After viewing the scenario, refer to the “Legislative Assignment.” You will need to save the document first in order to use it.

Submit the assignment to the instructor. You also reserve the right to submit your completed proposal to the respective government official.

However, this is optional. If you select to submit your proposal as a part of the legislative process, refer to “Find Your Representative” or research the contact information on your own.

( 600-700 words. Find a topic that actually can be legislated (made into a law). It could be a health issue in your community. An example of a problem that troubles me is why restaurant food that is left over is thrown out each night instead of saving and offering it to soup kitchens when 25% of our population has “food insecurity”.

Such a topic could be developed into a proposal following the steps on the form.

APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.)

Click here to ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Grassroots citizens groups across the country are forming to address the problems
related to alcohol and other drugs facing their neighborhoods and cities. Pastors and
congregations are whitewashing billboards that advertise alcohol products and target their
communities. Alcohol policy networks are being established to regulate local alcohol
availability. Neighborhood residents are taking absentee landlords to small claims court to
rid areas of crack houses. Parents of high school seniors are working to host sober
graduation parties. These efforts, and others, demonstrate a growing trend of citizen action
for the prevention of problems associated with alcohol and other drugs.
As more and more grassroots groups emerge to address alcohol and other drug
related problems, professionals in the prevention field are recognizing the effectiveness of
these efforts. A new wave of community-based prevention programs is focusing on
environmental prevention issues. Proactive in nature, environmental prevention seeks to
address the physical, social, political, and economic factors that contribute to alcohol and
other drug problems. Environmental prevention means a change in the way alcohol is
advertised, packaged, sold, and promoted in society; it also means changes in health care,
education, housing, and employment opportunities and practices. None of these goals can
be accomplished without broad-based citizen participation and action that challenges the
social, political, and economic institutions in our communities, towns, and cities.
If government services and social agencies are to promote community action, we
will need to examine citizen initiatives to discover the broader principles governing their
operation. Who becomes involved in such groups? Why do they fail or succeed? How do
they alter the power relationships in a community? What roles can and should professional
nonprofit organizations play in relation to these groups? The answers to these questions lie
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in analyzing both the tangibles of projects and activities, as well as the more elusive factors
of group process, group formation, and group dynamics. Effective organizing gives a voice
to those who have felt powerless to take action on their own. Individuals discover shared
experiences and values, and gain the courage to voice their concerns, hopes, and fears.
Together, group members brainstorm actions and build strategies, they become invested in
each other, in their communities, and in the solutions.
Many existing prevention programs, while claiming to be community based, are
designed in isolation from the very communities which they are meant to serve. Coalitions
of planners are largely comprised of professionals without broad based-participation from
the residents affected by the problem. Programs are typically generated and directed by
agencies; a few token residents serve on committees but they often feel ovcnvhelmed by
the experts and frequently drop out.

Identify A Problem Or Concern In Your Community, Organization
Identify A Problem Or Concern In Your Community, Organization

Although some drug and alcohol prevention programs can boast of impressive track
records and great successes, most cannot. The assumption that the agency knows what is
best for the community-that the agency has the best understanding of community
problems and the best understanding of the solutions-blocks communication and success.
Agencies undertake needs assessments to prioritize social and health problems, they develop
“innovative,” “cutting edge” programs and then bestow their expertise on the community.
Community residents, however, have seen these model projects come and go, usually
dependent on shifting funding fads and trends. When funding is terminated or other vital
resources are withdra\Vll, the project ends because it was never truly owned by the
community to begin with.
Largely as a result of the institutional attitudes described above, many community
residents have withdra\Vl1 from civic participation and public life. Suffering from ‘a