PITTSBORO COMMUNITY FORUM
From the outset of the Community Diagnosis process, we planned to hold a community forum after talking with providers and community members in Pittsboro. A community forum is an open public meeting to discuss issues relevant to the community. These can include both "burning issues" that need immediate attention and also less urgent issues that have persisted and still need addressing. The community forum is viewed as an opportunity to bring together concerned members of the community to initiate dialogue and collaborate with one another to institute pathways for change. Though there was no formal planning committee for the forum, it was a collective process that began at the beginning of the community diagnosis project with guidance and input from the Chatham Coalition for Adolescent Health. From the first visit to Pittsboro, we began to plan for the forum. We incorporated questions into our interview guides about which location and nights of the week would be most accommodating for Pittsboro residents. Tuesday night emerged as the best option since church activities and other obligations took priority most other weeknights, and Central Carolina Community College became the chosen locale due to its proximity, spacious accommodations, supply of chairs and tables, and availability.
Once the date and venue was decided upon, the formal planning process began. This included mailing invitations, preparing food, collecting supplies, organizing our research, and preparing materials. Although we employed many modes of advertisement were utilized, word of mouth was the most effective in reaching those who participated in the forum. We posted fliers in popular town venues such as schools, the General Store, and the Memorial Library, posted an announcement on the Chatham County Chatlist, placed an announcement in the Chatham Record, mailed personal invitations to over 50 people, and visited a middle school soccer team to tell them about the forum and distribute fliers. Our preceptor personally invited people to attend, as well.
Other preparations for the forum included planning the agenda and activities which would take place throughout the evening. Several members of the Community Diagnosis team participated in an empowerment class in order to incorporate empowerment methods of interactive participation into the forum. These methods facilitate participants to take control of issues facing their own community, through critically reflecting on the current situation and identifying attainable action goals to improve that situation. To identify and clearly present salient community issues, we transcribed and analyzed our interviews and focus groups to identify common community themes affecting adolescents. These themes became the focal point of the forum, which were encompassed in the main activity of the evening, Force Field Analysis, to be discussed later.
The forum was held on April 3rd from 7 to 9pm. The agenda was as follows:
7:00-7:20 Food, mingling, icebreaker
7:20-7:35 Introductions, explanation of Force Field Analysis
7:35-7:40 Deciding upon theme of choice for small group work
7:40-8:20 Force Field Analysis
8:20-8:40 Report back to larger group
8:40-9:00 Wrap up/Closing comments/Evaluation
The room was set up with a semi-circle of chairs to promote an open atmosphere for discussion and allow participants to feel that they were all on the same level. Salient community themes with quotes and pictures posted up around the room. These included recreation, transportation, opportunities for youth, education, growth and development, drugs and alcohol, sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy, race relations, and community perceptions of teens/teen voice in the community. We also set up a refreshments table. Participants' first stop upon entry was a table set up with a sign-in sheet to record contact information. This sheet also designated boxes for participants to check indicating interest in receiving of the final document, a forum summary, or becoming part of a committee to continue dialogue initiated during the forum.
After signing in, participants moved on to our opening activity.: a table with an assortment of multi-colored "hands" cut from construction paper. Participants were encouraged to select a hand and answer the following questions:
What's one thing you like about living/working/going to school in Pittsboro?
What's one thing you don't like about living/working/going to school in Pittsboro?
What's one thing that would make Pittsboro a better place for teens?
Participants answered each question on a finger of their hand, decorated it, and then taped it upon a designated wall. Some of the answers to "what people like about Pittsboro" were: the people, the small town atmosphere, little traffic, the Haw River, and the size of the public schools. Some of the answers to "what they do not like" were: there is not much to do, it's small town, people's narrow views, school system apathy, no good walking trails, too many people moving here, and not enough restaurants and traffic. Answers to the final question about "what would make Pittsboro a better place for teens" included: more activities, a YMCA, "activities with transportation", a Boys & Girls Club, "real adolescent pregnancy prevention", and "more after school programs promoting physical activity".
After completing the "hands" activity, participants had a chance to help themselves to the refreshments. They could also walk around and look at the themes on the wall. This gave participants a chance to start thinking about community issues and discussing them informally with each other before the forum began.
At approximately 7:20, we introduced ourselves, our instructors, and our preceptors and opened with a brief statement of the purpose for the forum. Then the forum participants introduced themselves. They included providers and community members in Pittsboro. Among approximately twenty participants, the list included a County Commissioner, a county judge, several community members involved with the Chatham County Chatlist, a health educator, representatives from the "Body Shop" school-based health clinic, a reporter from the Chatham Record, a juvenile court counselor, a representative from Chatham Together, a substance abuse counselor, a post-doctoral student from UNC-Chapel Hillapel Hill working with the community, and several members of the Chatham Coalition for Adolescent Health. Among these participants were also several concerned parents.
Following introductions, we described the forcefield analysis activity. Forcefield Analysis is an empowerment technique used for "listing, discussing, and evaluating the various forces for and against a proposed change" (Hope et al, 1995). This activity works best in groups of 3-5 people when they discuss a theme they are interested in and familiar with. First, the group identifies the present situation in their community related to the theme, as well as a goal they would like to work towards. The present situation is listed in the middle of a page and a goal is written on the right hand side of the page. The group then brainstorms all the "forces" which hinder their goal from being realized (hindering forces), as well as all the forces which could help facilitate the realization of their goal (helping forces). On the left hand side of the present situation all "helping" forces are written and on the right side all the "hindering" forces are listed. The facilitator for each group might suggest types of forces to consider such as available resources, attitudes of people, organizational structures, vested interests, people, present or past practices, and social or organizational trends.
Arrows are then drawn with to correspond with each force listed. Arrows corresponding with helping forces point in the direction of the goal, while arrows corresponding with hindering forces point away from the goal. The length of each arrow indicates the strength of that force. After all the forces have been listed, the group chooses one to focus on. The chosen "force" becomes the new goal and action steps are listed which will facilitate community members to achieve that goal. Choosing a hindering force would suggest action steps towards reducing the strength of that force. Questions to consider both in rating the strength of a force and in choosing a force which represents a workable and reachable goal include: Are they (the forces) valid? How significant are each of them? Which ones can be altered? Which cannot? Which forces can be altered quickly? Which forces, if altered, would produce rapid change?
The diagram on the following page gives an idea of what Forcefield analysis "looks" like.
What Forcefield Analysis looks like:
Note: Arrows can be the same length even on the same side since some forces may have the same strengths.
In order to facilitate the forcefield analysis discussion in the Pittsboro community forum, each participant received a colorful post-it note. The participants had five minutes to look at the displayed themes with relevant quotes and pictures and decide which theme they were most passionate about and wanted to discuss. They then placed the post-it note under the selected theme. After rating the themes the participants divided up into groups to discuss the theme they had selected. The five themes chosen for discussion were race relations and teen voice, STDs and teen pregnancy, transportation, recreation and opportunities for youth, and drugs and alcohol. A Community Diagnosis team member facilitated each group. The groups had approximately 30 minutes to do the activity and then reconvened in the larger group. A representative was self-selected from each group to report back to the larger group the current situation related to their theme, the helping and hindering forces they perceived, the identified goal, and the action steps to achieve the goal.
For the topic of race relations, one goal of the group was to hold a community forum surrounding racial issues to discuss topics such as interracial relationships. Another goal was to make the "all white" pool a community issue and to use it as a means to bring to light what's going on underneath the surface. The current situation regarding race relations was identified by the participants to be the lack of adults talking about racial issues, thus giving tacit approval to underlying racism in the face of a rapidly changing population. They also determined that differential treatments of different races exists in the schools and community. Hindering forces toward reaching their goals were identified as the fact that the pool is private, and that focusing on the pool might narrow and obscure the larger racial issues underneath. They also identified unspoken rules and history behind this deeply rooted issue as other possible hindering forces. They expressed concern that the community forum would end up "preaching to the choir" because people with racist attitudes wouldn't come to the meeting.
Helping forces and suggestions to reach these goals were the ideas of publicly challenging the "all white" pool, providing a public access pool open to everyone, and using triggers and the "SHOWED" method of discussion at the race relations community forum. They also felt it was important to get youth involved in the meeting because they are most likely to have an integrated voice. Of these helping forces, giving youth a voice was prioritized and action steps toward achieving this goal include having focused discussions in after-school groups, having a film & discussion series open to the public or in the schools, and getting kids involved in decision making processes at community level. Logistically, they determined that having vans available to get kids to the community forums would be important. From these action steps, having a town hall in school/holding a school forum was determined as the best idea. This would involve giving the kids a chance to let their voices be heard in an organized fashion with no need to defend or debate their views. Logistically, they would like these voices to be recorded. Realistically, they determined that a potential problem with this idea is that there is currently no political/school board support for such an event and that parent voices would be needed as well, however, they may not come to the event.
For the issue of transportation, the goal set by the group was to provide teen transportation to all programs. The current situation regarding this issue was identified as a lack of transportation for teens in the area. Hindering forces identified as preventing attainment of the goal were racism, liability issues, cost, classism, tight politicians, and the fact that the idea was too practical.
Helping forces were identified as writing transportation into organizational grants, expanding Chatham Transit, and providing gasoline vouchers. Action steps identified by the group were popularizing this view of the need for transportation, educating people on grant writing, signing petitions, having a community forum on the issue, getting press coverage and performing a research study or "fact finding" mission to get the facts on the issue.
Recreation and Opportunities for Youth
For the issues of recreation and opportunities for youth, the goal set by the community group was to provide a basic recreational facility. The current situation related to this goal was defined as an overall lack of opportunities for recreation among youth. Hindering forces toward reaching the goal were identified as lack of money, security, lack of adult and youth support, and lack of transportation.
Helping forces toward reaching the goal were identified as the increased growth in the area, organized sports leagues, the community college and non-profit organizations as potential resources, and having caring commissioners in the area. Action steps based on growth include increasing the percentage of resources from developers toward recreation, having caring commissioners increase the allocation of funds, having non-profit organizations provide recreational programs, and providing art and theater events at the Central Carolina Community College. The group determined that all of these action steps depend on increasing parental support and volunteers.
For the issue of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use among teens, the goal of the group was to delay the use of these substances until age 21 and to prevent alcohol use while driving. The current situation is that alcohol is the most commonly used drug followed by tobacco and marijuana among school age youth. Hindering forces toward reaching this goal of delayed onset of substance use were failure on the part of the schools to address these issues, the difficulty in finding people to do this type of work (such as special education teachers and teachers in general), the need for/lack of an adolescent day treatment center, the lack of consequences for using these substances and the easy availability of these substances.
Helping forces that could aid in the attainment of the goal were identified as increased education on the subject of substance use, an increase in alcohol free events such as Project Graduation, positive attitudes related to Project Graduation, negative attitudes towards substance use in general, and increased information and activities related to delaying substance use. Other logistical helping forces were identified as having a clinical and therapeutic resource person available and police department involvement. Of these helping forces, changing community attitudes/ promoting substance-free messages was prioritized. Action steps identified by the group were the use of the parent-to-parent training program in the community (which is designed to help parents talk to their teens about these issues) changing the signage in convenience stores (part of "targeting marketing literacy"), and educating grocery store employees to be more aware of inhalant, alcohol, and tobacco sales to minors.
Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
For the topic of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, the goal was defined as having no unplanned "teen" pregnancies in the area. The current situation related to that goal was defined as the current existence of teen pregnancy. Hindering forces toward reaching that goal were the existence of the abstinence only school policy, teens not using birth control, limited access or perceived limited access to birth control for teens and lack of parental involvement.
Helping forces toward reaching the goal were identified as having a comprehensive health education curriculum in the school system, continuing current classes given in schools by the health educator, the existence of the Body Shop at Horton Middle School, and having more school based health clinics. The community group then prioritized the comprehensive health education curriculum as the goal they wanted to pursue. Action steps related to this goal were identified as having UNC School of Public Health students put together a report on the costs of unplanned pregnancies to Chatham County (such as foster care and premature births), creating a coalition of parents and teens to speak to the school board, churches, civic organizations and teachers and adding a Hispanic liaison to the coalition. Other action steps included lobbying individual school board members through more informal means in addition to formal presentations and offering all programs in Spanish as well as English.
In addition to identifying these action steps, people in the community need to be committed to organizing support for their implementation. For this reason, Maria Hitt, the health educator at the Chatham County Health Department, volunteered to facilitate organization of people into committees to begin working on these issues. A few forum participants did sign up to be on these committees in the future. Another outcome of the forum was the recruitment of two new board members to the Chatham Coalition for Adolescent Health. Furthermore, another School of Public Health student will be working in Chatham County building a coalition around changing the abstinence only school policy which was discussed during the meeting.
The community forum brought together a diverse group of people who were not usually present together at meetings surrounding these issues. Several participants learned facts and viewpoints related to Pittsboro adolescents that they had not previously known. This may benefit them in the future work with this population.
Evaluation of the community forum by its participants was positive overall and everyone expressed a willingness to remain informed about the issues that were discussed. There was also agreement on the idea that the dialogue facilitated by the forum would indeed lead to implementation of some of the action steps mentioned. A participant also discussed the effectiveness of force field analysis as an effective mechanism for organizing people around an issue. One participant mentioned a desire to broaden the Chatham Coalition for Adolescent Health's mission to encompass all of the issues discussed that evening and another participant did express regret that more teens had not been involved in the forum.
 Themes from Community Member Interviews |
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