Assessing the needs of Native American communities: a Northeastern example

The article describes a community needs assessment conducted by Native Americans, with Native Americans, for Native Americans in an urban area in the Northeastern United States. Focus groups and interviews were used to gather information on social needs. Several strong themes emerged from the needs assessment, most notably the need to include culture as a foundation for everything in the community. Some community members called for the agency which sponsored the needs assessment to become a cultural center in addition to providing social services. Other community members believed that inclusion of a cultural perspective as an important dynamic in the provision of helping services and in the administration of the agency was needed. Public relations, communication, and outreach were also viewed as important to agency success.