Community Building

This work is a description of vulnerabilities that help account for many of the serious problems facing contemporary society in industrialized countries, including high rates of crime; homelessness; alcohol, tobacco, and other drug addictions; and a breakdown of the psychological sense of community.Historical, philosophical, and epistemological issues are also explored in this book as a foundation for understanding what appears to have gone wrong. Several solutions are suggested, borrowing heavily from the fields of education, religion, and mythology. Several wisdom traditions are presented as illustrations of alternative conceptualizations for defining mental health, along with discussion of the implications of borrowing from these models to set new directions for the helping fields. The final chapters provide examples, from communities of healing to successful community-based interventions, of how these elements promote human well-being and social improvement today.

"From Community Building's forward to its ending notes, this 155-page volume is packed with scholarly explorations of the origins of problems and viable solutions in contemporary community life....Community Building will persuade the community psychologist to use the power of his trade to strengthen communities"-Mentoring Community Builders, "In this compelling and deeply philosophical book, Jason weaves together multiple disciplinary strands and suggests enlightened approaches to individual and community problems. This book is essential reading for anyone who is concerned with the revitalization and maintenance of supportive communities."-Jean E. Rhodes, Associate Professor of Clinical/Community Psychology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, "Leonard Jason's book adds an important voice to the collective body of literature that speaks to the longing for community in the postmodern era."-from the foreword by Mara B. Adelman, Seattle University and Lawrence R. Frey, Loyola University Chicago, "This book pulls from a broad spectrum of current and historical material so that we may join the author in reviewing lessons learned, combining concepts, and applying models of thought to address the present day challenge of community building. In addition to being well-referenced, this work provides provocative ideas in a context of logical thought. The reader is led from a bleak, dark, discouraging outlook to a more positive, light, and hopeful perspective. A stimulating and well-written piece, I highly recommend this book to those who are ready for something distinctive."-Barbara Pino Weisshaar MA, MFCC, "This is a remarkable book for the incredible span of knowledge that Leonard Jason covers in less than 200 pages. [This book] adds what no other community text has done in many years, which is a serious look at the role of spirituality in the process of community building. This is a significant contribution and [is] a must read for students in numerous fields related to community development, including public health, community psychology, social work and public administration."-Thomas Wolff, Ph.D. Director AHEC/Community Partners University of Massachusetts Medical Center

LEONARD A. JASON is Professor of Psychology at DePaul University. He is the recipient of the Society for Community Research and Action's 1997 Distinguished Contributions to Theory and Research Award. He is coeditor of Behavioral Community Psychology (Praeger, 1980).