The Importance of Informing the Public

While reading chapter 2 in the Forces for Good text, I continuously thought about how important it is to keep the public informed. It made me think of the social media discussions we had in class. So many people are completely unaware of programs that they may be eligible for that can drastically change their situation. There are numerous opportunities for people to gain access to various services and they are not even aware that they exist.

The majority of the people I work with at the health department work with a grant program for cancer patients. Before I started working there I had no idea that this program existed. They have so much money to offer cancer patients and most people qualify (regardless of their income). The two qualifying factors are age and lack of insurance. Each time a person calls inquiring about this service, the staff asks them how they heard about the program. In order to best serve the community, it is imperative that they know the best way to inform people of the services.

If people see how big of an impact a certain organization makes in the community/society, they are more apt to act and join in a cause. As stated by the authors, "Policy reform sends a signal to the nation that the changes these organizations propose are important enough for society as a whole to adopt." (p. 43) If an organization has a lot of advocates they are much more likely to have an impact on a larger scale.