Community Organizing: The Path to Building Power

The Problem Every four minutes, someone in America dies from an addition to alcohol or drugs Over 20 million Americans are currently suffering with a substance use disorder 1 in 3 households is directly impacted by addiction Those in positions of power do not take our constituency seriously Our movement has too often been disjointed, at odds with one another and often disconnected   Lead MK

The Solution We must unify the voices of the 45 million Americans directly impacted by this problem in order to form a single constituency By unifying people in recovery, affected families, prevention professionals, treatment providers, public health organizations, law enforcement and countless others, we can accumulate the power necessary to enact change The solution is to begin organizing our communities   Lead MK

What is Community Organizing? Lead MK:

What is community organizing? The coordination of cooperative efforts and campaigning carried out by local residents to promote the interests of their community. (Oxford Living Dictionaries) Community organizing is a process by which a group of people organizes and takes measures to influence the policies or culture surrounding them. (https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-community-organizing-721407)

Accumulating Power Community organizing at its core aims to develop connections in the community with the aim of accumulating power in order to challenge the status quo and generate change. “Community organizing has as a core goal the generation of durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence key decision-makers on a range of issues over time…this can get community-organizing groups a place at the table before important decisions are made.” (Kim Bobo, Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy Manual for Activists)

Conflict Organizing vs. Consensus Organizing Conflict Organizing puts direct pressure on the status quo in order to generate change. It involves “regular people” with a common interest making demands on those in power in order to improve communities. Consensus Organizing focuses on finding areas of mutual self interest between those in power and those seeking power.

What is NOT considered Community Organizing? Activism Mobilizing Legal Action Advocacy Community Governance Direct Service Nonpartisan Dialogue on Community Problems Movement Building (https://web.archive.org/web/20090206053050/http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4710)

Organizing Addiction Community Lead MK:

Building a Base of Power In order to generate change through organizing your community, the first step will be to begin accumulating power by uniting those impacted by addiction. What constituencies will you need to reach out to and bring together in your community in order to effectively build a base of power? Lead AK

Why do these communities not work together already? Uniting The Impacted People in long term recovery Families who have lost loved ones Prevention Agencies Public Health Workers Law Enforcement Treatment Providers Criminal Justice Reform Advocates Why do these communities not work together already? Lead AK

Using Your Power To Confront the Powerful Once you have built a base of power through united those impacted by addiction who want to fight for change, the next step is to determine who among the powerful you must confront. Who are the powerful who may potentially be targets of your organizing efforts in your community? Lead AK

Potential Decision Makers To Target Federal Elected Officials Mayor & City Council County Executive & County Council State Legislators Chief of Police Board of Education Prosecutors Zoning Boards Media How might you target each of these decision makers? Lead AK

Goals, Strategies & Tactics Lead MK:

Understanding the difference between Goals, Strategies, and Tactics A goal is a primary outcome. A strategy is an approach you take to achieve a goal. A tactic is a tool you use to execute a strategy. Do you understand the differences between the three? Can you give examples of each?

Common Community Organizing Goals The goals of community organizing generally include: Forming groups Bringing about social justice Maintaining or restructuring power Developing alternative institutions Maintaining or revitalizing neighborhoods What are some examples of addiction / recovery related goals that fit into these categories? Lead MK

When is it time to determine a goal? Communities have built teams of individuals representative of the entire addiction & recovery movement (People in Recovery, Families of Loss, Prevention Professionals, Treatment Providers, Public Health Workers, etc) It is determined that the united team collectively has the ability to grab the power necessary to bring about change It is agreed that all share a common vision – lower addiction rates, providing better support to those in need Lead MK

Sample Goal, Strategy, and Tactics GOAL: Open Recovery Home in Community   STRATEGY: Enlist backing of local housing authority TACTIC: Develop funding petition TACTIC: Craft letter of support from community leaders TACTIC: Testify at next authority meeting

What does this work look like in 2019 and beyond? Lead MK:

In 2019, Facing Addiction with NCADD will be… Presenting Training I: Community Organizing to 15 communities across the country, working with partnering organizations from both our Affiliate Network as well as the Action Network Presenting Training II: Developing Goals, Strategies & Tactics in 10 of the 40 communities we have visited to date, equipping them with more tools to further enhance their organizing efforts Reach out to me at mking@facingaddiction.org to learn more about these trainings and to learn what you can do to be involved in these efforts! Lead MK

WHERE WE GO FROM HERE Thank you for joining us today. We are here to help you launch your organizing so that every community can begin truly #FacingAddiction.