People with Disabilities: Empowerment and Community Action

Develop more effective community initiatives and build solid collaborations!

Although the fields of disability studies and community psychology developed separately, with little crossover, they have evolved similar values, principles, and tactics. People with Disabilities: Empowerment and Community Action is the first volume to bring together these two fields. Now disability activists and community psychologists can join forces, share ideas, and gain strength from one another.

This landmark volume offers empirical research and practical advice from respected scholars in the field. People with Disabilities: Empowerment and Community Action presents tested strategies for empowering a wide variety of people with disabilities, including Latinos, the aged, the developmentally disabled, low-income schoolchildren, and patients with chronic diseases. The diversity of strategies offered here means that every community can find a way to make its own voice heard.

People with Disabilities: Empowerment and Community Action offers detailed, step-by-step plans for developing a broad range of programs, including:

• choosing strategies to suit rural, suburban, and urban environments
• taking a capacity-building approach to community empowerment
• developing participatory action plans
• building effective coalitions
• enabling collaboration between inner-city universities and the community

With its solid research, helpful tables and figures, and well-organized action plans, this book is certain to become a classic in the fields of disability studies and community psychology.