Communities are generally defined by geographical boundaries. However, there are certain communities that are based on sharing of characteristics and interests. A community needs assessment helps in providing the community leaders the capability of identifying the strengths and resources that are available in the community (Guzys, 2013). This assignment will discuss on an organization that might contribute to the community needs assessment program.
Community needs assessment at Seattle involves identifying the needs and assets of the community and creating an action plan for the priority strategies. The Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) has been selected as the organization that will be approached for a partnership in community needs assessment. The community needs assessment focuses on creating provisions for recovery services that will offer a focused recovery provision to adults, living in the community, who have experienced serious mental disorders (Jorm, 2012). The needs assessment program aims to provide support to such people by engaging certified specialists who have a firsthand experience of working with mental illness. The ACRS can act as a potential partner in this regard owing to the fact that it recognizes the issues faced by such people, and provides a linguistically accessible and culturally competent outreach, education, intervention, prevention, recovery support and treatment to support holistic recovery (Acrs.org, 2017).
Collaboration with the ACRS will help in improving the health and wellbeing of residents who have alcohol and drug dependency. The community needs assessment also focuses on preventing and managing chronic health conditions among the residents and also intends to support the elders living the community through multicultural management programs. It aims to provide disability support services to elder people who cannot move on their own (Collard et al., 2012). Partnering with the ACRS will prove beneficial as it will create opportunities for the elderly to engage in physical and social activities and will also ensure that the older people are getting adequate nutritious meals (Acrs.org, 2017). The ACRS offers training to home care providers. Thus, collaboration will provide a high quality and culturally competent care to the elders.
Furthermore, the needs assessment focuses on identifying the health needs of the residents and will also recognize health disparities related to chronic diseases (Thota et al., 2012). Thus, the contributing factors, barriers and opportunities that may help the population to lead a healthy life will be easily identified. The ACRS has provisions for a Behavioral Health Program. An effective collaboration will help the residents to enroll in this program, thereby offering an array of services that will help them lead a meaningful life (Acrs.org, 2017). In addition, a successful collaboration will also help the residents gain access to the primary and dental healthcare service centres, offered by the ACRS. The residents will also be able to utilize better medication management and psychiatric evaluation that will reduce the prevalence of chronic health conditions.
To conclude, it can be stated that the community needs assessment of Seattle focuses on aging services for the elderly, behavioural health and wellness, and recovery services. The ACRS works towards promoting the health and wellbeing of the residents. Thus, an effective partnership will help in providing best services to the demands of the community.
References
Acrs.org. (2017). AGING SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS - ACRS. ACRS. Retrieved 20 December 2017, from https://acrs.org/services/aging-services-for-older-adults/
Acrs.org. (2017). BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & WELLNESS - ACRS. ACRS. Retrieved 20 December 2017, from https://acrs.org/services/behavioral-health-and-wellness/
Acrs.org. (2017). RECOVERY SERVICES - ACRS. ACRS. Retrieved 20 December 2017, from https://acrs.org/services/recovery-services/
Collard, R. M., Boter, H., Schoevers, R. A., & Oude Voshaar, R. C. (2012). Prevalence of frailty in community?dwelling older persons: a systematic review. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 60(8), 1487-1492.
Guzys, D. (2013). Community needs assessment. An Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care in Australia, 91.
Jorm, A. F. (2012). Mental health literacy: empowering the community to take action for better mental health. American Psychologist, 67(3), 231.
Thota, A. B., Sipe, T. A., Byard, G. J., Zometa, C. S., Hahn, R. A., McKnight-Eily, L. R., ... & Gelenberg, A. J. (2012). Collaborative care to improve the management of depressive disorders: a community guide systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of preventive medicine, 42(5), 525-538.
