Asset Based Community Development

Reflection

Evan Turpen

Mission & Values

Catholic Charities is guided by four main core

values . . .

Competenc
Compassio
Respect
Stewardship
e
n

Mission & Values

The foundation of Catholic Charities

includes the belief that human life is
sacred; that all humans have inherent
dignity, rights and responsibilities; that
social structures like marriage and the
family must be supported; that the needs of
the poor and vulnerable must be met; and
that we must be responsible stewards of
Gods creation.

Volunteer Relations

By focusing on assets, the organization can determine .

..

Abilities
Areas of
to of
grow
Successful
Positive
volunteers
those being to
strength
foundations
initiatives
served
build
upon

Volunteer Relations

By focusing on deficits, the organization can

determine . . .

Opportunities
Areas
of need
Initiatives
that
to
expand
need
more
efforts
attention

Organizational Focus
Catholic Charities
consistently maintains an
asset-focused perspective
ranging from the daily
operations to the governance
of the organization as a
whole.

For example, consider the positivefocused areas of service Catholic

Charities offers . . .

Youth
FamilyMentoring
Child
Services
Strengthening
Development

Tuesday Night Supper

Initiatives

Every Tuesday evening, the

department I work in hosts a supper
for around 150 individuals suffering
from homelessness. During this, we
maintain a focus on the assets of the
individuals, coming together in
communion for a warm meal together.
Examples of this include

Resume
Electing
writing
individual
and
interview
to
Providingan
Health
counseling
share
practice
with
progress
localHealth
in the
by thetheir
Heartland
past
professional
week andvolunteers
if they wishAlliance
lead the prayer for the
evening.

Tuesday Night Supper

Initiatives
An additional program is After Supper Visions an
initiative that allows a client of the supper to rent a
camera, develop the film, and showcase their work at an
annual auction fundraiser. A few photos from last years
exhibit are below . . .

By Mike B.
By Jennifer A. By Ray B.

Twelve Years Developing Film, Talent and Hope

Deficit Value
While we are operating the supper, it is integral to
maintain an asset-focused approach, however,
considering the deficits in community is important for
identifying areas to sharpen our focus.
Deficits are valuable because more often than not, they are
obvious. Without observing and recognizing deficits, it is
impossible to develop an asset-based focus. Deficit
identification allows our organization determine which assets in
a community can most effectively mitigate these issues.
With this said, the organization understands that a deficitbased focus is somewhat shortsighted. A deficit-based focus
tends to identify problems that already exist, instead of
working to prevent/alleviate them at their roots. In order to
instill and develop programs that are proactive, its
strategically advantageous to focus on strengths.

Personal Values
In terms of community development, my understanding
of the value of both assets and deficits is constantly
evolving along with my internship experience.
As a Finance major, I came into my Social Justice
internship relying far too heavily on a deficit-based
perspective. I learned quickly- and continue to- that this is
not always the most effective approach, especially when
dealing with individuals. Ive learned that by identifying
deficits, it becomes easier to shift the perspective to
leveraging assets of individuals and communities.
By focusing on assets, individuals and communities are
given a positive foundation in order to develop, rather
than negative shortfalls of a community. Deficit-based
focuses will place a community in a stalemate, rather
than uplifting the individuals.
By integrating individuals into a positive initiative,
development moves forward and the organizations

Understanding of Community
Development:
Celebration of Giving
During the Fall semester, I
assisted in coordinating the 2014
Celebration of Giving program
an initiative that serves over
6,000 children and 700 families
in the city.
Though a team of two others and
I ran the program, it took the
efforts of over 28 Catholic
Charities programs, 12 locations,
and countless donors,
volunteers, and caseworkers to
make a positive impact on the
clients of Catholic Charities for
the Holiday season.
During this experience, I learned
the value of utilizing the assets
of both the Catholic Charities

Sources Consulted
Catholic Charities Chicago website.
ABCD Institute web content and videos.
After Visions Supper content.