Capacity Building Competency Empowerment Capacity Building Competency  COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER TRAINING INSTITUTE

Please write one sentence for your definition of A CHALLENGE Please write one sentence for your definition of EMPOWERMENT

WHAT IS EMPOWERMENT? “The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights” https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/empowerment

PROCESSES The internal process is the person’s sense or belief in her/his ability to make decisions and to solve their own problems. The external change finds expression in the ability to act and to implement the practical knowledge, the information, the skills, the capabilities and the other new resources acquired in the course of the process”.

CHARACTERISTICS Responsibility and Ownership Working independently towards common objectives Understanding “Why?” so that guidelines can be applied Weighing the impact of decisions on all affected stakeholders An earned privilege NOT a given right

EMPOWERMENT IS NOT . . . Throwing out the rule book Bypassing everyone who will say “No” Doing the “Fun Parts” of someone else’s job Freedom to unilaterally make decisions that impact others

DECISION TEST QUESTIONS Do I have enough information to make an informed decision? Have I worked with other members of the team? Would I be willing to be accountable for my decision?

HOW DO CHWs EMPOWER?

Transfer ownership for health and wellness to your clients . Create the environment for ownership where each clients wants to be responsible. Coach the development of personal capabilities. Learn fast themselves and encourage others to also learn quickly. “People rise to the challenge when it is their challenge.”

You as LEADERS must know a lot about yourself before you can empower others.

When you know yourself, you can begin to embrace a process to establish a mission, vision and set of values.

WHAT ARE YOUR Beliefs and Values Prejudices Fears Skills Weaknesses

TREE OF LIFE ROOTS - family and community you come from & people or things that influenced you when you were young (good &bad) TRUNK - everything about your life today: what you do, who you live with: your work, your family, your community FRUITS - all your achievements; small and big BUDS - your hopes for the future (big and small)

How do you feel after doing this? What is the value in such self-reflection Do you see any way that this can help you in understanding yourself? Do you see any way that this can help you understand your clients better?

GIVE POWER AWAY

“Power is an ‘expandable pie’… power is not a zero-sum commodity, requiring that for others to have more, the leader must have less.” “You have to give power to gain power.”

HOW TO GIVE POWER AWAY Allow others to take care of themselves. Provide autonomy and discretion. Give visibility and recognition. Help build strong relationships.

EMPOWERMENT

Be true to your beliefs. Being a leader takes heart and guts. If you empower them to take charge of their own health, then trust them to take care of themselves.

Being honest and supportive is empowering to self and others. Respect the empowered people. Things will go wrong. Laugh and move on.

To achieve the objectives of empowerment, some external conditions and internal qualities are important.

EMPOWERMENT LEVERAGE POINTS Trust Communication Relationships

A hopeful person believes in the possibility is essential to growth A hopeful person believes in the possibility Yet some professionals who label their patients incurable or chronic seem also to expect them to be motivated to take action and make changes in their lives, despite the overall hopelessness such labels convey. Care givers need to show respect for the inherent dignity and individual autonomy of people with mental health problems, including acceptance of difference as part of human diversity and humanity.

As part of the process of your services individuals and families will have their lives, & their personal stories, transformed. Part of the empowerment process is therefore the reclaiming of these life stories. Similarly, the process of empowerment should include a reclaiming of one’s sense of competence, and recognition of the often hidden power relationships inherent in the services provision.

There are parallels between this movement and other movements of oppressed and disadvantaged people, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, gay and lesbian people, and people with disabilities. The struggle for equal rights has been part of all these liberation movements. Through understanding their rights, people increase their sense of strength and self-confidence.

Empowerment does not occur to the individual alone, but has to do with experiencing a sense of shared experience and connectedness with other people.

FROM SECRECY TO TRANSPARENCY People can be helped to make decisions about disclosure through support in recognizing that they have multiple characteristics, many of which are positive. People with devalued social status who can hide that fact often choose to do so, but this decision takes its toll in the form of decreased self-esteem and fear of discovery. Those who reach the point where they can reveal their identities as mental health service users are more likely to display self-confidence.

Empowerment is not a destination, but a journey Empowerment is not a destination, but a journey. No one reaches a final stage at which further growth and change are neither possible nor beneficial. Developing or strengthening ways of coping with difficulties. Having a real say in their services and care that they receive, and planning for crises so that they can exert an influence even when times are bad. Working towards their own ambitions and goals, which may well include employment, education, enhanced family roles and relationships. HOW TO While structures, conditions and support can create the opportunities that enable individual empowerment, responsibility ultimately lies with the individual to reclaim control of their problems, the way they are treated and their lives. At the individual level, clients and their service providers can take back control by: EMPOWER:

Empowerment: Definitions and Meanings REFERENCES User empowerment in mental health, WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010 Empowerment: Definitions and Meanings www.mpow.org/elisheva_sadan_empowerment_chapter2.pdf END OF LESSON