Success Stories
Intimate Partner Violence: One community in a southern state had significant problems with intimate partner violence, but the problems were not being addressed by law enforcement or any other agency in a constructive manner. Two women used the model to mobilize the community to actively address the issue. A direct result of their efforts was the election of a chief law enforcement official who was more supportive than the previous official of domestic violence intervention, and who created a domestic violence advocate position within the department. The local newspaper also began publishing the names of domestic violence offenders and resources available for victims and perpetrators. The community now has an annual domestic violence conference. It took this grassroots group two years to move the readiness of this community from resistance to preparation. The community is now at a stabilization stage and continues to move forward.
Cultural Competency: This example describes a unique application of the model, because it was the first time that it was applied within an organization. The "community" was defined as the Executive Board, administrative staff, provider staff, and consumers of the organization, and the goal was to make the organization more culturally competent. The administration realized that cultural competency can be a very emotionally sensitive topic, and they believed that the model gave them the structure to proceed in a respectful and stage-appropriate manner. Using the model, they developed many creative and stage-appropriate strategies to improve the level of cultural competency within their organization. They highly recommend that other agencies use the model for similar projects.
Suicide: After hearing about the model at a conference, a Native woman came to the Center seeking help. In her village of 600 people, there had been 18 suicides in the previous six months. She requested that the team go to her community and help them to use the Community Readiness Model. Because of the urgency of the situation, and with the financial support of the Colorado Injury Control Research Center at Colorado State University, Tri-Ethnic Center staff members traveled to the remote village. The staff were expecting no more than 15-20 people from the village to attend, but were very moved when they were greeted by almost 100 Native people, young and old, from six different villages. Many people had overcome great challenges to come to the meeting. Between villages, there are no roads, and the only way in is by flying in small airplanes or by barging down the river if it isn't frozen. Once visitors arrive, there are no hotels, so visitors must find a family that is willing to take them in. Despite these difficulties, people found a way to be there.
Initially, they spoke of their grief and helplessness because of the pain of their losses. The model was presented, and participants divided into village groups. Each group used the model to assess their village's stage of readiness and to identify their strengths and resources. An outsider might think that these small villages had very little in the way of resources (no clinics, shelters, etc.). But the village groups recognized many resources - human resources to cultural resources. They later talked about how grateful they were to rediscover those strengths because they had forgotten them in their grief, or because they hadn't really recognized them as strengths.
Community members offered their time, their creativity, and their knowledge of the culture. The youth formed their own group to develop strategies to offer support to friends in school. Elders lined the outer walls of the community center. Most couldn't hear what was going on and some were blind, yet they stayed from eight in the morning until eleven at night to offer their support. At the conclusion, each village summarized the strategies that they had developed. Finally, the entire group formed a circle and again, using the model, worked together to brainstorm an action plan to maintain inter-village communication and support.
They indicated that for the first time in a long time, the communities felt hope and empowerment. A woman from the state office who had attended the gathering was so impressed by the efforts that she offered each of the six villages $2,000 to begin working on their strategies. Another woman donated her 80 acres of allotment land for a treatment center. The group was so motivated that they were able to move from a lower to a higher stage of readiness in only two days.
The villages continue to work toward their goals, and their strategies have been remarkably successful. From having experienced 18 suicides in a six-month period before the training, they did not lose a single person to suicide in the year following the training!