Introduction
In social sciences, community service entails the work done by an individual, a group or an organization to benefit others. Community service can be practiced in an area that one lives in or that which the person is familiar with. In this case, Blue Island City will be analyzed, since it represents an area that I am accustomed to by working with a branch of Cait’s Consignment. Therefore, it is essential to have an in-depth understanding of its demographics, socioeconomic status, political environment, crime state, organizations, community assets that support and promote health, barriers to health, and the city’s community site.
Assessment of the Community Setting (Neighborhood)
Demographics
Blue Island is one of the Chicago cities that is defined by dynamic demographics based on race, gender, population and ethnicities. The racial composition of Blue Island is made up of whites, African-Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders and Hawaiians. Among these populations, whites comprise 49.7%, blacks 31.42% while the remaining percentage constitutes the other minority groups (World Population Review, 2022). In addition to different racial groups, Blue Island has a population of about 22,328 people (World Population Review, 2022). This population has males averaging at 33 years old and females at 38, showing that it has more older women than men (World Population Review, 2022). Generally, Blue Island has multiple races and a populace that is constitutes of older ladies than gentlemen.
Socioeconomic Status of Communities in Blue Island
The Blue Island socioeconomic status can be illustrated by assessing the number of households, and the education and income positions of these families. Firstly, there are about 8,278 households in Blue Island and each one constitutes three people (Community Data Snapshot, 2022). Secondly, the education state in Blue Island comprises more people with high school diplomas than those with graduate degrees. Individuals with high school diplomas make up 29.6% while those with graduate degrees are about 6.1% (Community Data Snapshot, 2022). Generally, Blue Island has households with people holding many diplomas than degrees and who earn salaries that are below the national average.
Government and Politics in Blue Island
The City of Blue Island is headed by an elected mayor who governs through a team of 14-member Council. This organ is responsible for the adoption and implementation of the plans (City Clerk’s Office, 2022). It executes its duties through divisions with each given a clear responsibility and mandate to oversee. Constituent Services is supervising the Departments of Finance, Risk Management, Senior Citizens, Planning and Marketing. Municipal Services manages the Departments of Water, Public Works, Building and Golf. Lastly, Public Safety team are in charge of Police, Fire/Emergency Management, 911, Inspections, Housing Courts and Parking Courts.
Crime and Violence
The crime and violence rates in the United States is on the decline. The most recent statistics from FBI indicates that the cumulative number of criminal activities in Blue Island City is at about 1,979.4 per 100, 0000 people (Community Data Snapshot, 2022). This is 15.63% and 0.30% lower than the national and Illinois rates that stands at 2, 346 and 1,985.3 per 100,000 persons respectively (HomeSnacks, 2022). Furthermore, anyone living in has a 1 in 181.4 probability of facing violent crime every year compared to 1 in 234.8 chance nationally (Kolmar, 2022). Fortunately, Blue Island is not among them, which points to some relative safety and stable security for residence.
Organizations, Civic Groups & Employers Present
Blue Island has numerous civic groups, business organizations, and employers, promoting formal interaction of people. The key civic groups present include Solid Ground Behavioral services, Chicago Bungalow Association, Progress Center for Independent Living, and Access to Care (Blue Island Chamber of Commerce & Industry, 2022). Besides civic groups, employers and business organizations such as Ribonucleic Acid, Metro South Medical Center, and JK Guardian Security Services, have been identified to be the best performing based on employees’ salaries and staff diversity (Best Companies in Blue Island. 2022). Generally, Blue Island has well-known civic groups, employers and organizations that promote social connectedness through working.
Community Assets to Support Health
Health in Blue Island is supported through establishing organizational partnerships. Blue Island city in collaboration with Agency for Toxic Disease Registry (ATSDR), Cook County Public Health Department (CCPHD) and USEPA Region 5 Brownfields have developed a Community Health Monitoring Program for the residence (Community Health Monitoring, 2022). Generally, it has a system that tracks the indicators and evaluate the improvements based on the interventions implemented on all the problems.
Community Assets that Promote Health
Community health assets present in Blue Island can be categorized into functional and biological. The functional community assets that promote health include family members, close friends, meaningful work and stable marriages (Vilhjalmsson, 2020). Besides, biological assets include high heart rate variability, cardiorespiratory fitness and high levels of healthy fats, HDLs (Community Health Monitoring, 2022). Generally, health in Blue Island is fostered when individuals achieve assets such as hope, cardiovascular fitness and stable marriages.
Community Needs that Create Barriers to Health
The gaps present between community assets that support and those that promote health include unemployment and family feuds. Unemployment has made people lack funds to achieve assets such as cardiovascular fitness which also supports the wellbeing of individuals. Additionally, family feuds have resulted to the breakage of most families, denying people a chance to assets such as family support in disease scenarios (Basu et al., 2021). The two main gaps present between the assets and the needs include discrimination in the workplace and separation of families (Bhatt & Bathija, 2018). Racial discrimination in the workplace has made most people unemployed, preventing them from achieving the stable and meaningful work asset (Vilhjalmsson, 2020). Additionally, family separations have made the elderly to lose close support, which is essential in promoting quick recovery in disease prognosis.
My Role at the Community Site
My role at the site is to act as a bridge between the community and the health care providers. I will strive to provide education and resources to the community so that they can make healthier choices and have better access to health care services (Cook County Health, 2020). I also plan to work with local organizations and agencies to identify and address health disparities. I hope to help lessen the health gaps.
Effect of My Site to the Community Health
Blue Island city community site can positively affect the health of the community and the population of the US by providing information on local health resources, health education, and health promotion activities. It can also provide access to preventive health services and provide information about health-related events, health insurance options, and other health-related topics. Additionally, the site can serve as a platform for sharing health-related news and resources.
Benefits of being Part of the Community Site
Connecting with Local Providers, as the community Site can provide users with direct access to local health providers, enabling them to easily find and book appointments with specialists they need. One can also have access to resources; the site can provide users with access to local health resources and events, such as free health screenings, health education seminars, discounted health services and helps individuals make informed decisions about their health.
Community Health Challenge Diagnosis and Plan
Healthy People 2030 Topic and Objectives
The Blue Island community partner, Cait’s site, addresses Healthy People 2030 Topic: Nutrition and Weight Status, Objective NWS-1: Increase the proportion of adults who maintain a healthy weight. This is addressed through the community partner’s ongoing program of providing nutrition education to local residents (ODPHP, 2022). This program teaches people about healthy eating, meal planning, and shopping for healthy foods on a budget and encourages physical activity and provides tips for an active lifestyle.
Health Belief Model Elements
Cait’s site attempts to address four elements of the Health Belief Model, including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits and perceived barriers. The reason behind addressing these four components is that they guide health promotion and disease prevention programs. Perceived susceptibility involves people’s beliefs in contracting a disease or a given condition, which creates awareness. Perceived severity includes the thoughts about the seriousness of a condition, especially its consequences if untreated (Nair & Adetayo, 2019). Additionally, perceived benefits are the positive outcomes that emanate from given actions in reference to a threat. Lastly, perceived barriers include the obstacles to executing a given health action.
Conclusion
Blue Island is predominantly composed of whites and African Americans with a small population of subgroups of other races. The city has over two thirds of its dwellers having various academic ranging from high school to graduate and professional degrees. Further, many of its residence are in labor force, while there exists a big difference in household incomes. City’s government is under the control of elected mayor who through a team of 14-member Council. Crime rates are generally low compared to the state and national levels. Though a collaboration with CCPHD, the city provides communities with culturally competent health services that addresses their perceived susceptibility and barriers to action.
References
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Bhatt, J., and Bathija, P. (2018). Ensuring Access to Quality Health Care in Vulnerable Communities.Academic Medicine, 93 (9), 1271-1275. Web.
Best Companies in Blue Island. (2022). Zippia. Web.
Blue Island Chamber of Commerce & Industry. (2022). Project type: Family, community & civic organizations. Routledge.
City Clerk’s Office (2022). City of Blue Island. Web.
Community Data Snapshot. (2022). Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. Web.
Cook County Health. (2020). Cook county celebrates opening Blue Island health center. Web.
Community Health Monitoring. (2022). City of Blue Island. Web.
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Kolmar, C. (2022). The 10 most dangerous cities in Illinois for 2022. RoadSnacks, 93 (7), 12-75. Web.
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ODPHP. (2022). Learn How to use healthy people 2030 evidence-based resources in your Work. Health.gov. Web.
Vilhjalmsson, R. (2020). Family income and insufficient medical care: A prospective study of alternative explanations. Sage Journals, 49 (8). Web.
World Population Review. (2022). Blue Island, Illinois Population 2022. Web.