The E4 Model

When people experience feelings of powerlessness, they are usually associated with not being treated fairly and not having money and resources or the means to get them. Feelings of powerlessness also occur when a person feels that they have little or no control over their lives.

These feelings of powerlessness often leads to feelings of hopelessness and depression. As a result, many people end up homeless, develop addictions, battle suicidal thoughts and can even turn to violence and crime.

People desire to have the power to control their own lives and realize their dreams. We all need to be empowered in some way.

The easiest way to understand empowerment and the E4 Model is to consider Maslow's' Hierarchy of Needs. Every human has needs and the natural urge to fulfill these needs from the basic needs of food and water to transcendence or a connection to God.

Empowerment addresses these areas of need!

Dunamis Empowerment Foundation has developed an empowerment model (E4) that identifies a person's feelings of powerlessness. Power brokers (people or organizations who empower) can then empower a person according to their need for power.

Four areas of powerlessness have been identified. E4 addresses each of them.

• SOCIAL POWERLESSNESS - when a person feels powerless because of their place in life. They often have feelings of unfair treatment.
• STRUCTURAL POWERLESSNESS - when a person is not able to have a say in their lives, and do not have resources to live where and how they want.
• PSYCHOLOGICAL POWERLESSNESS - when a person does not have the confidence and motivation to succeed.
• DIVINE POWERLESSNESS - when a person does not feel connected to God and does not sense a calling or purpose in life.

For additional information about the Empower4 model, please contact the director of Dunamis at director@dunamisempower.org. We are in the process of writing book that will explain further how to implement E4.

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