‘A glass half-full’ – how an asset approach can improve health and well-being Trevor Hopkins Principal Consultant – Healthy Communities

Introduction and outline ‘Deficits’ and ‘assets’ approaches The dilemma A glass half-full A new policy anyone? Further information

A deficits approach Much of the evidence currently available to describe and address health inequalities is based on a deficit model This is a ‘pathogenic’ approach to health and well-being The deficit approach focuses on the problems, needs and deficiencies in individuals, families and communities It then designs services to fill the gaps and fix the problems As a result the community and individuals can feel disempowered or can become dependent People become passive recipients of expensive services

Features of a deficits approach Policymakers see systems or institutions as the principal tool for the work of society The structure is designed to permit a few people to control many other people People are seen as the clients or consumers This approach produces a great deal of the same thing, whether goods or services, but to overcome this... Services are targeted at specific needs or problems, communities and even individuals become ‘segmented’

An assets approach Values the capacity, skills, knowledge, connections and potential in individuals, families and communities It is a ‘salutogenic’ approach which highlights the factors that create and support health and well-being It requires a change in attitudes and values Professional staff have to be willing to share power Organisational silos and boundaries get in the way of people-centred outcomes and community building Never do for an individual, family or a community what they can do for themselves

Assets What makes us strong? What factors make us more resilient and more able to cope in times of stress? What opens us to more fully experience life? What do asset rich workplaces and communities look like and how can they support health development? Deficits Risk factors: Teenage pregnancy Body Fat Cholesterol Smoking Excess alcohol and other drugs

The dilemma... People and Communities have deficiencies & needs Individuals and Communities have strengths, skills and talents

Health Assets - Health Deficits Pathogenesis Salutogenesis Well-beingNot well Health Illness Assessing needs & managing risks Identifying & connecting assets NeedsAssets

Pathogenesis Salutogenesis Well-beingNot well Health Illness Assessing needs & managing risks Identifying & connecting assets NeedsAssets Health Assets - Health Deficits

A glass half-full: how an asset approach can improve community health and well-being

The principles Assets: any resource, skill or knowledge which enhances the ability of individuals, families and neighbourhoods to sustain health and well- being. Instead of starting with the problems, we start with what is working, and what people care about. Networks, friendships, self esteem, happiness and feelings of personal and collective effectiveness are good for our health and wellbeing.

The practice and opportunities Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Community asset mapping Large group methods World Café, Participatory Appraisal, Open Space, Story Telling Joint Strategic ‘Assets’ Assessment Work on resilience and well-being Co-production ‘Mass Localism’ Big Society?

This requires a big shift in emphasis Changing from servicing people’s needs to facilitating their aspirations A move from targeted to universal approaches Redressing the balance between needs and assets or strengths A shift in emphasis from the causes to ‘the causes of the causes’ Solutions that are developed by people and communities not by specialists and professionals

A new policy anyone? Present PolicyWhy not also have a model that… Focus on DeficienciesFocus on Assets Problem ResponseOpportunity Identification Charity OrientationInvestment Orientation Grants to AgenciesGrants, Loans, Investments, Leverage More ServicesFewer Services High Emphasis on AgenciesEmphasis on Associations Focus on IndividualsFocus on communities/neighbourhoods MaintenanceDevelopment See People as ClientsSee People as Citizens and Co-producers ‘Fix People’Develop Potential Programmes are the AnswerPeople are the Answer

Everyone should have the opportunity to be a producer of their own and their community’s well-being It takes everyone to build a healthy, strong and safe community.

Recommended reading 'A glass half-full - how an asset approach can improve community health and well-being' - Jane Foot and Trevor Hopkins Publisher - IDeA, March Free download at 'Health Assets in a Global Context - Theory, Methods, Action' - Antony Morgan, Maggie Davies, Erio Ziglio (Editors) Publisher - Springer, August 2010 'Neighbor Power - building community the Seattle way' - Jim Diers - University of Washington Press Building Communities from the Inside Out - a path towards finding and mobilizing a community's assets - John (Jody) Kretzman & John McKnight - ACTA Publications