Page 16 RAIN August/September 1981 COMMUNITY CONGRESS: Community Congress of s'an Diego 1172 Morena Blvd. An Alternative Model San Diego, CA 92110 C/0 Journal of Alternative Human Services available from above address For Local Polities by Steve Rudman_ The Community Congress of San Diego (CCSD) is a coalition of 60 community-based, human service and public interest organizations, as well as over 300 individuals in San Diego County. Initially organized in 1970 by a small group of "street" agencies serving youth, the Community Congress has evolved into a broad-based, sophisticated operation that's become a potent political force in San Diego. Every year the members select a Steering Council, and work through standing committes and task forces to develop policies and strategies. Each standing committee (e.g., Policy, Planning, and Advocacy) is assisted by a corresponding staff component. By serving as a structure through which "new problems can be continually confronted and old structures continually discarded/ ' the Community Congress has gained many victories, particularly -in advocating and securing funds for community-based agencies. For example, the CCSD mobilized community pressure to have the United Way of San Diego establish a special demonstration and development fund for non-member agencies and later, after five years of planning, helped develop what is thought to be the first truly open United Way membership policy in this country. The CCSD also mobilized_community pressure so that San Diego County began allocating 10 times the national average of federal revenue sharing dollars to human services (the revenue sharing program was later developed into an integrated County Department of Human Setvices which pr~vides all services through contracts with about 100 community-based human service organizations). As more resources became available to member agencies, the Congress staff foresaw the increasing need within communitybased agencies for people trained in management, planning and evaluation. In 1978 the College for Community Learning was formalized as a systematic "community learning" process which synthesizes new theory and practice to integrate learning, community development, and creative social change. Instead of centralizing expertise, the Community Learning model seeks to create a decentraHzed network of community resource persons and organizations. Its projects are designed to build the capacity of participating individuals and organizations to become self-directed, self-reliant learners; to define or clarify their own values and goals; and to act as interdependent co-learners._A key element of the community learning process is creating "new political networks of persons and organizations which are based on personal understanding, shared values and trust, cutting across traditional barriers of ethnicity, sex, and age." The Community Congress also publishes the monthly C/0 Journal of Alternative Human Services, a vital resource for those ~f us working or interested in community-based services. Every issue contains a nifty information exchange that mentions new publications and innovative programs. There are also in-depth articles exploring nom-traditional theories, systems and models that are working. The July 1981 issue is particularly timely and noteworthy given the national political climate. The feature article-"Cooperation and Communication: Strategies for Surviving Funding Assaults"- is an excellent case study that critically examines the performance of the CCSD network this past spring upon being challenged by the prospects of community agencies losing 50% of their local public funding. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors; faced with a $16 individual; $2Vnstitutions_ large budget deficit, kept in step with the Reaganomics frenzy and proposed huge cuts in revenue sharing funding of social programs. In hopes of assisting other community efforts across the country weather similar funding assaults by local governments, the authors detail, step-by-step, the events as well as the strategies the CCSD network developed in response to this crisis. There are many lessons we can learn here. Probably the most alarming is that the Community Congress-a well organized coalition with an impressive track record in making political connections and influencing public policies~barely survived this round intact. It is frightening to think what may happen to some of us next year when the Reagan budget policies take full effect at the local level. Don't wait till then. Subscribe to the Journal now-and begin to Cooperate, Communicate, and Organize!! □□ \ I ,~,: \ \ ' ' '\:\~~
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