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The NYCAHN Model
Alot of people have been talking about the "NYCAHN model" in the AIDS advocacy world. This is a quick and basic attempt to describe it.
NYCAHN believes in the model of community organizing. While we engage in advocacy, at the core of what we are doing is developing new leaders and trying to change who has power rather then only changing a policy (although plenty of that happens along the way!). We also believe that in order to address the root causes of problems that become policy issues, is by asking our members what they want changed, and then creating campaigns around those issues. Since we have a base of people who are setting the agenda, we are multi-isssue. However, all of our members share the common identity of living with AIDS or being affected by AIDS.
Our organization is comprised by its membership of low-income people living with HIV/AIDS who intentionally join and participate with NYCAHN. We ask membership dues from our members even though they are poor. In addition, we have institutional members, who also contribute membership dues. These are mostly large scale AIDS service organizations and nonprofit housing providers. Insitutational members have one vote per organization and individual members have one vote. We are constantly recruiting members and we do this by doorknocking in buildings where low-income people living with HIV/AIDS are sent, going around to local welfare centers where low-income people living with AIDS receive their entitlements and talking to people about the organization and what they want to see changed in the world.
Here is a definition and some information about how to engage in community organizing: from www.marininstitute.org:
Community organizing is a long-term approach where the people affected by an issue are supported in identifying problems and taking action to achieve solutions. The organizer challenges those he or she works with to change the way things areit is a means of achieving social change through collective action by changing the balance of power. The tactics and strategies employed by the organizer are similar to the processes of leadership including timing the issue, deliberate planning, getting the attention of the populace, framing the issue in terms of the desired solution, and shaping the terms of the decision-making process.
"A
single bracelet does not jingle"
- African proverb
Community organizing helps to bring out many voices to add collective power and strength to an issue. Community organizing is a key part of an overall strategy to make changes in a community that are widely felt, and that reflect the wishes of the people who are directly affected by alcohol-related community problems. This requires the organizer to not only listen and be responsive to the community, but also to help community residents develop the skills necessary to address their own issues in an ongoing way.
At the heart of community organizing are inclusion, ownership, relationship building and leadership development.
Individual vs. Collective Action
Community organizing looks at collective solutions large numbers of people who engage in solutions that impact even more people. These people usually live in the same neighborhood, town or block.
Many traditional agency responses look at individual solutions. Agencies tend to focus on the individual as a means to solve public health problems.
Community organizing changes the balance of power and creates new power bases. Groups that organize do not have to be statewide or national in scope, nor do the decision-makers have to be elected officials. Here are some examples from history:
Civil rights: The boycotts of businesses and busses in the South brought about
desegregation and the Voting Rights Act.
Labor unions: Strikes against conditions in factories throughout the
early part of this century led to the 40-hour work week and better working conditions
for all workers.
The anti-war movement: Protests against the war pressured the government
to end U.S. involvement in Viet Nam .
Qualities of a good organizer
Community organizers think strategically about their work while always keeping the final goal in mind and continually making contributions to the goal. This is especially important in community organizing campaigns to enact or change policies. Qualities include:
Imagination
Sense of Humor
Blurred vision of a better world
An organized personality
Strong ego/sense of oneself
A free, open mind, and political relativity
Ability to create the new out of the old ( Saul Alinsky, 1971 )
Principles of Organizing
Experienced organizers know that the process of organizing is seldom "tidy" it doesn't always happen in neat, predictable steps. It can be thought of as a process guided by principles that repeat in a cyclic, rather than linear, way:
Understanding this helps in planning effective organizing for community action.
Six stages of effective community organizing:
It's extremely important that you get to know the community you will be working in and the history of the issue you will address. Allow two to three months to become familiar with the community, its history, make-up, demographics, geography and political leadership. Continue to learn about the community by going " doorknocking " and conducting " one-on-ones ". This will help you learn about the concerns of the community and develop personal relationships.
One-on-ones are an important part of community organizing, as they lay the foundation for all the work that comes afterwards. The main goal of the one-on-one is to listen and gather information. It should be an intential, not spontaneous, arranged visit. Leaders in the organization should also engage in one-on-ones. The organizer must learn what community members concerns are, and find out what they identify as problems, not tell the community what the problem is. That is why an organizer meets first with people individually, rather than try to meet everyone in a group.
Other great resources can be found at Midwest Academy, www.midwestacademy.com
or the National Training and Information Center, www.ntic-us.org or the National People's Action www.npa-us.org
Other groups in NYC that believe in the model of community organizing outlined above are (this list is by no means exhaustive):
>>FUREE
>>Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition
These groups are more like NYCAHN in that they are identity based, but use a community organizing model:
>>CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
>>FIERCE!
>>VANDU is an amazing example of drug user organizing!
Good books for a background in community organizing that you should read are:
Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky
Revile for Radicals by Saul Alinsky
Roots for Radicals by Edward Chambers
Organize!: Organizing Strategies for Social Change by Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall, Steve Max from Midwest Academy
Going Public by Michael Gecan
Stir It Up by Rinku Sen
Dynamics of Organizing: Building Power by Developing the Human Spirit by Shel Trapp