Neighborhood and Community

Neighborhood

The people we share locality with

Often considered a potential source of informal support

Connect residents to higher levels of social organization and governance

Community

About the people and relationships

Often centered around an activity such as activism, employment, a person’s profession, sports, or other leisure

Neighborhood organization and activism

Level of civic participation

Sense of identity

Equality among members

Community responsibility and reciprocity

(All 4 are social capital)

Neighborhood socioeconomic status

Communities characterized by socioeconomic disadvantage have been associated with higher rates of mental illness among residents
• Socioeconomic disadvantage reflected in conditions that are uninviting to, or constrain, involvement and activity

Neighborhood Safety

Prevalence of crime and violence
• Research suggests that people with mental illness are not major contributors to community violence.
• Symptoms of mental illness do not often directly precede criminal behaviors

Resident Mobility

“movement of residents in and out of the neighborhood over time”. High mobility = high turnover.
• High levels of resident mobility are believed to compromise MH by negatively impacting the development of strong social networks

• the risks associated with vulnerability to symptoms of
  mental illness; increasing community problems such as incivility, victimization, unemployment

Activity Space

People moving beyond the boundaries of their own neighborhood in the typical course of their daily activities (direct impact on MH)

ex. Green Spaces

Neighborhood Diversity

Where diversity is the norm, community members may be more tolerant of neighbors who are recovering from mental illness

Community Attitudes

Stigma can enforce exclusion from relationships, activities, and physical spaces and places

Intervening to develop supportive neighborhood communities

Can be difficult for the practitioners working in inpatient settings to envision the pt. transitioning back to neighborhood life

Ot’s can:

• id the needs, limits, and capacities of the neighborhood and community w/ a view to facilitate capacity of neighborhood to enhance occupations

• Assess neighborhood and develop community profile

Practices to support change

Promoting neighborhood regeneration

Supporting neighborhood partnerships

Empowering peer support