Traditional Needs Based Path
People are the “do-gooders” that recognize the issue and will want to do something about it but only on the surface level when they are the “outside help” in the Traditional Needs Based Path. They do not take the time to understand the underlying issued that are in this cycle. For instance, my school last year collected money for Relay For Life to help aid the cancer organization, but no one really knows why Relay For Life is an organization and the impact it has; they just know that they are helping. Trying to solve an issue this way is like two dogs fighting over a toy. The owner decides that to take the toy away because the dogs were causing chaos. This did not necessarily solve the problem because the two dogs will just find a new toy to fight over. The dogs were not taught how to solve the problem; therefore, they will just keep fighting over toys until they are taught to share.
Alternative/Assets-Based Paths
People regard the assets of these communities as outliers and do not consider them when they are the “outside help” in the Alternative/Assets-Based Path. They do not think about how these assets could aid their problems. For example, when I volunteered for a canned food drive, we donated a plethora of canned goods to the families that were struggling to keep food in their stomachs. Sure we helped them, but they are still in their poor economic situation. Disregarding how the assets can help find solutions to the issue that are in that community somewhat sounds ridiculous, but it is understandable.