Benefits of participating in a customer-run organization: Ten years review

The aim of this study is to elucidate the benefits in which users participate in a mutual aid consumer-run organization (CRO) for a period of 10-year. Much is known about the benefits of self-help group participation, but how CRO participation experiences lead to personal change is yet to be explored. There is a lack of consistent pattern in connecting participation experiences lead to personal change in existing literature (Brown, 2009). The findings of this study add to more understanding and provide implications for enhancing the effectiveness of user-led disability organizations. The Hong Kong Stroke Association started off as self-help group and grew into a CRO. It provides a collective platform to construct positive and constructive social identities for the disadvantaged who are being marginalized by the society. Through follow up in-depth interviews and focus group interviews of ten leading members, experiences of personal and collective changes were identified. Benefits of CRO involvement are categorized into personal empowerment, community integration, voicing rights for disabled population, social support, collective identity, and access to educational resources. The participants conveyed that they grew from service recipients to peer leaders during the years of participation. Compare to the data collected previously when they were still a self-help group, their motivation of participation is found to have changed from satisfying individual psychosocial needs to contributing collectively as social capital. Consistent to other researches, it is suggested that larger organizational size allows more higher-quality opportunities for social engagement and empowerment.