What is Community Development and its Importance
The importance of community development and proper utilization of community-based resources will be impacted in this study. The future directions that the younger generation will be provided with as a result of engaging in community development practices will also be focused on in this area of research. The factors associated with the importance of community development along with its purpose towards helping the youth to get rid of substance abuse will be impacted in this study. Various theories associated with community development will also be impacted in this research to provide the readers with a better insight into the study. Community development along with proper utilization of the resources available for a better future is very important. This social factor associated with this topic will be impacted within this area of study. Proper guidance through the future directions of the youth who are involved in substance abuse will be provided through this study.
Community development is a procedure through which the members of a particular community are guided and supported by agencies to help them with certain issues. Community development activities help in empowering communities and the members associated with it. The inclusion of community development activities ensures that the members of the community are more connected and can seek help more easily (Gilchrist, 2019). The United Nations describes community development as a procedure where the members of a particular community come together to undertake collective measures to mitigate an issue (Lung-Amam & Dawkins, 2020). Community development helps in empowering a particular segment of society. The enhancement and improvement of the communities can be attained through community development activities. The major community development practice that has been chosen for this study is the provision of support to the youth who are involved in substance abuse. Community development practices along with the utilization of the provided resources will be quite beneficial in securing the futures of those youths.
There are a lot of factors that make community development an important factor. This is a holistic approach that is based on the principles of Human Rights, Empowerment, inclusion, social justice, and so on (Ledwith, 2020). It is very important to provide community development in the segment of substance abuse by the youth. It is very useful in spreading awareness of the ill effects of substance abuse and its long-term effects. The procedure in which the substances are being produced is also very harmful to the environment, which the member of the community has to be made aware of. The impact that drug abuse has on the increasing rates of crime has also to be shed light on through the utilisation of the resource of community networks. The inclusion of community engagement with the troubled youth and the provision of proper guidance and counseling will help them to be more aware of the ill effects of substance abuse (Fitria et al, 2018). Proper counseling can ensure that the youth are not involved in any activities that encourage substance abuse.
The people who have been involved in substance abuse for extensive years can prove to be great resources for the community-based development of the youth who are involved in drug addiction. The inclusion of people who can share the stories of their substance abuse and how it has affected them adversely along with the stories of their transformation from that state can also prove to be quite important in motivating the youth who are willing to give up on substance abuse (Azevedo et al., 2021). The impact that substance abuse can have on the mental, social, as well as physical well-being of the individuals, has to be explained to them in order to bring them on the right track. The major factors that influence substance abuse can also be rightly identified through community development procedures. Some of the major causes of substance abuse such as peer pressure, bullying, family history, has to be impacted upon while conducting the community development practices, and deal with the emerging issues accordingly (Best et al., 2017).
Substance Abuse among Youths and its Detrimental Impact on Society
There are a lot of procedures which can be utilised to ensure that there is a proper development of community-based practices to mitigate the problem of addiction among youths. The inclusion of counselling for the youth seeking help to get rid of substance is an effective method. The major side effects that substance abuse brings about in health, community, society can prove to be a very effective measure (Rømer et al., 2018). The inclusion of technologies and tools such as SAASI-3 (Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory), to ensure advanced detection of substance abuse within the youth of the communities are said to be one of the major investments in resources. This aspect will help in a better community development and bring about a reduction in the rates of substance abuse.
Therapists and counsellors are also some of the major external resources that can bring about a major change in the development of the community of addicted youths. The inclusion of motivational speakers can also prove to be quite useful in aiding the youth to come out of the habit of substance abuse. The community-based programs can also provide free medicines to the youth that are generally taken to recover from the ill-effects of substance abuse (Tremblay et al., 2019). The inclusion of examples and advices on how the individuals can keep substance abuse at bay has to be provided to them. The increase in the social issues or increase of crimes as a result of intake of drugs has to be explained to the youth in details so that they can get a better understanding of the ethical aspect of the entire scenario. This factor will push them to be more socially responsible and therefore be more aware of the situations that drug abuse may create for them and the individuals around them (Mayo, 2021).
There are a few theoretical approaches that can be adopted for this particular topic of community development associated with substance abuse among the youth. The Critical Theory can be associated with this particular topic along with Rothman’s Model of Community Work. The critical theory focused on community development is the empowerment of the communities or groups to bring about social transformations (Ciocanel et al., 2017). The subject of substance abuse among the youths can be highlighted with the aid of the Critical Theory. The critical theory will help in a better understanding of the situations that need immediate attention. This theory also focuses on the provision of knowledge. Therefore, the youngsters can be provided with better guidance through the inclusion of providing them with knowledge about the negative effects of substance abuse (Genois, 2019). This theory is related to social science which aims at making a conscious attempt to fuse action along with theory.
(Source: Genois, 2019)
This theory majorly focuses on increasing the personal development of the youth through increasing measures of self-efficiency, self-awareness, and inculcating positive identity aspects. These factors in turn will increase critical reflection, create a safe environment, engage the youth, and empower them in order to make sure that they can come out of the difficulties faced due to substance abuse. The engagement of the youth in various activities such as live theatres, cultural engagement, creation of support networks for the other addicted youth are some of the best resources to ensure that they are kept away from addiction.
Community-based Solutions to Substance Abuse among Youths
Rothman’s Model of Community Work focuses on three major factors which include social planning, locality development, and social action. The inclusion of this theory will ensure that a better social planning is done based on which the resources are arranged to ensure a reduction of addiction among the youth. The awareness has to be spread in the communities that they will be working in through proper campaigning procedures (Vijverberg et al., 2017). Some plans and measures regarding locality development can be undertaken with the utilisation of resources like social campaigning and holding up meetings to mitigate the issues. Social action will include creating a network of people belonging to the narcotics association so that better medical facilities can be provided to the young addicts.
(Source: Vijverberg et al., 2017)
The adherence to this model will ensure that there is an increased awareness about the ill-effects of substance abuse on the youth and how it may affect their social and mental wellbeing. Social action regarding counselling the parents will also be of great significance as it will help in curbing the issues to some extent (Aquino et al., 2018). All the course of events has to be conducted through social planning. Planning will ensure smoother flow of the community work. The inclusion of models will ensure that the aspect of addiction among youth can gain greater momentum. With relation to community development for the youth who are associated in substance abuse this community development plan is associated with the fact that people should take greater collective ownership of their resources and make decisions accordingly. The access to the resources and medical aids along with plans for the spreading of awareness should be utilised to the fullest by the community members. Individual involvement and strategising measures to ensure that the youth around various communities are rid of their addictions can prove to be effective.
This research is based on the importance of community development based on drug abuse among the youth. The importance of community development activities has been impacted within this study along with the procedures that can be undertaken to make the youth more aware. The importance of community development has also been highlighted in this study along with several theoretical approaches that have been associated with this particular topic.
References
Aquino, R. S., Lück, M., & Schänzel, H. A. (2018). A conceptual framework of tourism social entrepreneurship for sustainable community development. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 37, 23-32.
Azevedo, L., Gaynor, T. S., Shelby, K., & Santos, G. (2021). The complexity of diversity and importance for equitable philanthropy. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 31(3), 595-607.
Best, D., Irving, J., Collinson, B., Andersson, C., & Edwards, M. (2017). Recovery networks and community connections: Identifying connection needs and community linkage opportunities in early recovery populations. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 35(1), 2-15.
Ciocanel, O., Power, K., Eriksen, A., & Gillings, K. (2017). Effectiveness of positive youth development interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of youth and adolescence, 46(3), 483-504.
Fitria, L., Ifdil, I., Erwinda, L., Ardi, Z., Afdal, A., Sari, A. P., … & Churnia, E. (2018, November). Exploring internet addiction on adolescents. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1114, No. 1, p. 012076). IOP Publishing.
Gilchrist, A. (2019). The well-connected community 3E: a networking approach to community development. Policy Press.
Ledwith, M. (2020). Community development: A critical approach. Policy Press.
Lung-Amam, W. S., & Dawkins, C. (2020). The power of participatory story mapping: Advancing equitable development in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Community Development Journal, 55(3), 473-495.
Mayo, M. (2021). The importance of community-based learning. Tomorrow’s Communities: Lessons for Community-based Transformation in the Age of Global Crises, 111.
Rømer Thomsen, K., Callesen, M. B., Hesse, M., Kvamme, T. L., Pedersen, M. M., Pedersen, M. U., & Voon, V. (2018). Impulsivity traits and addiction-related behaviors in youth. Journal of behavioral addictions, 7(2), 317-330.
Tremblay, J., Bertrand, K., Blanchette-Martin, N., Rush, B., Savard, A. C., L’espérance, N., … & Genois, R. (2019). Estimation of needs for addiction services: A youth model. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Supplement, (s18), 64-75.
Vijverberg, R., Ferdinand, R., Beekman, A., & van Meijel, B. (2017). The effect of youth assertive community treatment: a systematic PRISMA review. BMC psychiatry, 17(1), 1-18.
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