Product Description

Democracy needs the extraordinary efforts of ordinary people. The experiences of the twelve creative community health leaders, which this book presents, provide excellent examples of innovative democratic leadership. Selected from recipients of awards from the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program, the leaders range from Lorelei DeCora, who works to control the diabetes epidemic among Native Americans, to Judy Panko Reis, an advocate for accessible health care for women with disabilities, to Ron Brown, who helps recovering addicts at Odyssey House in Flint, Michigan. These activists work with people-Native Americans, migrant workers, Central American refugees, disabled persons, inner-city residents, and the rural poor-who have too little of the social goods, such as education, housing, and health care, that others take for granted. Their action conveys the conviction that the fullest form of democracy calls each of us to leadership for improved forms of community, including a health care system for all.

Not only is this book rich in issues of health care delivery, political economy, and social justice, but it also contains much about the strategies of community organizing and program development. Health professionals in all institutional settings will find that the stories get to the heart of why they entered and remain in a "helping" profession, community organizers will find practical political lessons, and all readers will find a higher standard for democratic practice.

To Give Their Gifts recaptures the neglected narratives of democracy. It places community and mutual responsibility for one another at the center of democratic leadership, explains health care as social justice, and asserts the belief that everyone has the "gifts"-and the right-to contribute to community.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #664978 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
A brilliant piece of work, and one that not only adds new dimensions to our thinking about leadership but also tailors it to the community health field with wonderful and inspiring stories.
--Meredith Minkler,  School of Public Health, UC Berkeley

The importance of the programs so vividly described in this important book-what they stand for, what they have accomplished, what it takes to make them work-cannot be overstated. Besides the powerful narrations of 'ordinary people' confronting very real and human situations, their accounts describe effective strategies that work, even in the most difficult situations. The verification of how actual change can take place at the grass-roots level is especially relevant in this post-September 11 era.
--Edward J. Eckenfels, Emeritus Professor, Rush Medical College

About the Author
Richard A. Couto is a professor in the Ph.D. Program in Leadership and Change at Antioch University. His most recent book, Making Democracy Work Better: Mediating Structures, Social Capital and the Democratic Prospect, won the 2000 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize of Independent Sector.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!
Richard Couto's book is a subtle but steady reminder to us all that there is more to be done before we rest. The book was easy to read and relate to "real life," yet packed a powerful message. Recommended reading for anyone!

Community Leadership and Giving Local Voice to Problem-solving
Dr. Couto gives us insights into how local cultures change through time, and how an individual with passion and wisdom can improve the quality and quantity of life of those involved. Favorite Quotes:
--I think there are leaders who are not good with detail but can be good with building some mechanism so that that detail is taken care of. If you don't take care of the detail, the quality of leadership starts spiralling downhill and people start leaving.
--I think a leader is by nature sensitive to hearing and paying attention to the people he or she works with. I'd almost have to say a "good" leader because there are leaders who don't pay any attention to that at all and just march forward. But a really good leader, who's going to be effective, is certainly able to always take in new information. Part of that new information is listening to the people that you are involved with. Sensitivity to people is an area where I see an awful lot of failure in lots of leaders.
--Our job, I think, as a community-based organization, is to be a vehicle for other people to lean and self-discover what they have inside their hearts and to provide and opportunity for them to see their vision about what they would like to see happen in the community happen. And so we provide a place for them to meet. We provide technical support for them to carry out their vision, and we facilitate the process. We facilitate the process by which neighbours converse with each other. And that's what we do.