Norwescap is a private, non-profit corporation originally established in 1965 to serve the low-income population of Hunterdon, Sussex, Somerset and Warren Counties. Its efforts are well documented. 

Over the years, Norwescap has evolved into a comprehensive non-profit organization providing varied services to tens-of-thousands of individuals annually. Norwescap’s services include early childhood education through their 10 Head Start Centers; providing millions of meals annually through Norwescap’s Foodbank; providing services to seniors; affordable rental housing; childcare support; financial coaching; utilities assistance; and many other supports and programming.

Acknowledging poverty and doing something about it with concrete strategies is the focus of a new Norwescap-generated article that is receiving a great deal of attention, so every three years Norwescap conducts a ‘Community Needs Assesment’ to determine what the most important community needs are.  Norwescap’s unique approach to its Community Needs Assesment has recently been recognized by a national academic journal.

Norwescap’s approach to its Community Needs Assessment was published online in Volume 3, Issue 4 of the “Journal of Community Practice.” The article was entitled “What is Poverty?: The Aspirations and Obstacles of Participants in Anti-Poverty Programs.”

Mark Valli, CEO of Norwescap, announced the important news stating, “The ‘Journal of Community Practice’ has published an article about Norwescap’s unique approach to their Community Needs Assessment process, a process which is required a minimum of every three years. The article explains the importance of taking an ‘asset based’ approach to their standard Community Needs Assessment process.” He added, “To have our unique approach to determining community needs on a national level, by a highly respected academic journal, is confirmation that Norwescap’s work is on the innovative cutting edge of service delivery and we are paving new pathways to help people on their journey from crisis to thriving.”

The strategies noted in the article fall under six critical domains: Education; Employment; Financial Capacity Building; Health & Nutrition; Housing & Energy Services; and Volunteerism. The report highlights Norwescap’s extensive work throughout northwestern New Jersey, which empowers thousands of individuals and families to move away from the crisis of poverty, towards a future where they can thrive.

Research for the paper was conducted by Norwescap’s former Chief Program Officer, Chris Michael Kirk, during the organization’s Community Needs Assessment process in 2022. The article was drafted by Kirk with input from Valli, Emmett Slobodzian and a former AmeriCorps member, Ethan M. Yoo. Valli acknowledged, “This paper would not have been possible without the support of the entire Norwescap team.”

All research articles appearing in the “Journal” undergo rigorous peer review. Norwescap’s article was under review for four years. In fact, Norwescap has since updated its Community Needs Assessment process and made it even stronger, based on the article’s findings.

Valli noted the importance of the article explaining, “It frames Norwescap’s aspirations-based Community Needs Assessment process as an effective process for determining individual, family and community needs; a process that is empowering for the people living in poverty; and a new lens through which to actually DEFINE ‘poverty’ – a word with something of an identity crisis.”

To quote from the article, “The exact meaning of “poverty” has long been a topic of debate for research and policy – often producing stigmatization in the population experiencing the phenomenon and further exacerbating the nature of the condition itself.”

To explore this divide, Norwescap conducted a community needs assessment focusing on the aspirations of their anti-poverty program participants and the perceived obstacles related to their goals. It is understood that program participants share the same strong aspirations for the future as the rest of the world.

While expressing significant financial concerns, participants also detailed their aspirations for future financial well-being, as well as describing major obstacles, like asset poverty and cost of living.

Rather than utilizing generalized concepts from outside a community, a participatory approach captures voices and experiences from within. The assessment proved the power of a participation-based approach to defining the experience of poverty through the eyes of those actually experiencing it.

Additionally, working with people on individual difficulties (education, paying bills) should happen alongside addressing (and alleviating) structural factors that reinforce poverty and marginalization.

Norwescap’s article illustrates “a new approach to understanding the phenomenon of poverty through engagement of those experiencing the phenomenon,” that allows communities to self-define. This participatory approach could be incorporated in community needs assessments across the country led by hospitals, public health departments, and social service entities.

This research also suggests further exploration of the relationship between aspirations, perceived obstacles, expectations, and behavior.

“As poverty remains a poignant challenge, we need ways to describe the phenomenon of poverty and the experience of those included within it that lead to action without stigmatizing,” said Valli. “We believe that by understanding this community in new ways, researchers, policy-makers, and social service programs can work with community members to co-design better strategies for the impact that has been pursued for so long.”

To read the article in full, visit https://norwescap.org/who-we-are/reports-and-financials/

Then go to “Community Needs Assessment” and click on “Journal of Community Practice Article: Norwescap’s Asset-Based Community Needs Assessment Model.”

For more information about Norwescap and its myriad initiatives, please visit norwescap.org.

Originally established in 1965, Norwescap has evolved into a comprehensive nonprofit organization providing services to tens of thousands of individuals in New Jersey annually. The organization offers a broad array of services that support and empower people with low to moderate income, helping them move away from the crisis of poverty and towards a future where they can thrive. Norwescap programs address immediate needs and build strategies for long term success, focusing on education, employment, financial empowerment, health and nutrition, housing and community development, and volunteerism and civic engagement.