IPR Publications, Getting Connected
Getting Connected
How to Find Out About Groups and Organizations
in Your Neighborhood
by Mary O'Connell
This guide presents an efficient, inexpensive method for ferreting out this information whether you live in a suburb, a city, or a small town. Based on research into mechanisms for integrating disabled people into the everyday life of their communities, the book identifies 575 groups organized within a single Chicago neighborhood or to which its residents belonged. To find out such information, it describes how to use printed sources, such as local newspapers, magazines, and directories; gather information at local institutions where people frequently meet (i.e., libraries or parks); and contact religious organizations. A telephone survey of local residents and follow-up letters to potential sources, and an "associational map" that presents a typology of groups, such as veterans organizations or sports leagues, are examples of each.
Getting Connected is directed not only to human service providers, but to anyone interested in community organizing, local politics, or local institutions, such as hospitals or schools.
Ordering Information:
Please make check payable to Northwestern University for $6.00, and send to:
Publications Department
Institute for Policy Research
2040 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208-4100