The Community Action Research Initiative (CARI) is a small grants program that encourages and supports sociologists and communities using social science knowledge, methods, and expertise to address community-identified issues and concerns. CARI provides up to $3,000 for each project to cover direct costs associated with the community action research.
Current CARI award winners are listed below. Read about past winners here. Read more about how to apply here.
Please direct any questions to Heather M. Washington at [email protected] or 202-247-9854.
2023 Award Recipients
Patricia Lewis, Sacred Heart University, and Vanessa Liles, PT Partners
“We All Belong Here”: Bridgeport Residents Respond to Anticipated Public Housing Demolition
In the most densely populated neighborhood of Connecticut’s largest city stands the Greene Homes – a public housing complex that has recently been selected for demolition. As with other public housing complexes around the county, public divestment from the housing authority has created an environment that some residents have called “uninhabitable”. The residents are now facing the prospect of relocation in a city with limited affordable housing. Research indicates that families who are relocated from public housing projects often find it difficult to establish the close ties they had in their former neighborhood and those who transition to housing vouchers often face higher rates of housing instability. In an effort to amplify the voices of the 720+ residents of Greene Homes, we are collaborating with PT Partners – a Black Feminist Community Organizing group led by public housing residents – to collect resident stories and present a suggested plan of action to local authorities. Specifically, we will facilitate a multi-method community-based research project intended to capture the opinions of Greene Homes residents regarding current living conditions and the anticipated demolition of their community. The findings will identify challenges and opportunities for PT Partners to build coalitions and develop advocacy strategies to ensure equitable and sufficient re-housing of residents. In addition, we seek to address the stigmatization of public housing communities in Connecticut by sharing authentic portrayals of life in the Greene Homes via public testimony venues such as city council meetings and local newspaper outlets.
Claudia Maria López, California State University, Long Beach
Aging in a Gentrifying City: The Subsided Housing Experiences of Low-Income Older Adults in Long Beach
While the population of seniors, adults 65 years of age and older, in the United States is estimated to increase from 48 million to 79 million over the next 20 years, there is a lack of housing policies and programs that focus on senior-specific needs in cities. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) vouchers for government-subsidized housing have been posited by city housing experts as the solution for addressing the housing needs of low-income older adults. However, these are temporary programs that do not create durable housing solutions. While there are descriptive statistics on the number of older adults who live in subsidized housing, there still lacks qualitative data that highlight the experiences of low-income adults in finding, living, and aging in gentrifying cities. The goal of this project is to describe and explain the housing experiences of low-income older adults who live in HUD buildings in Long Beach, California. The research project is a collaboration between the Long Beach Gray Panthers (LBGP), a non-profit organization that advocates and lobbies for senior-related policies, and House It SoCal, a research team of California State University, Long Beach faculty and students who examine the housing experiences of vulnerable communities in Southern California. The project will address a community-based problem, identified by the LBGP as a critical issue for its population of low-income older adults. During 2024, we plan to conduct sixty one-on-one semi-structured interviews with low-income adults living in HUD-subsidized buildings in downtown Long Beach. The community of older adults in subsidized housing in downtown Long Beach is predominately Black and Latinx residents who live with the threat of possible displacement and homelessness. The stress of finding housing, staying in housing, and aging in place, impacts the overall well-being of older adults. Using the framework of bioethics, we connect housing to health, showing how housing is a social determinant of health. We argue that accessibility and mobility are critical to independence, which is key to positive well-being.
Andrea Román Alfaro, University of Toronto
See It Through My Eyes: Violence and Autonomy at the Urban Margins
Interpersonal violence is not evenly distributed. Violence disproportionately affects marginalized communities. Communities affected by violence are not only poorer, but they hold a stigma that portrays them as naturally violent and irreparable. The stigma becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially for youth, where poverty and lack of access to resources predominate. I collaborate with a youth team from the Casa Juvenil – Puerto Nuevo (located in Callao, Peru) to challenge stigmas about shantytown residents and transform how society portrays neighbourhoods like Puerto Nuevo. Our project uses participatory research and photography to examine how young people living at the urban margins build a sense of belonging and autonomy within the constraints of violence.
The project will launch the first Puerto Nuevo Community Photo Archive, with over 200 photos collected from neighbours and taken by the Puerto Nuevo Children’s Photo Club members. Furthermore, using the photos as departure points, we will interview photo club members and organize focus groups with youth. We will use the photos and testimonies gathered from our fieldwork to design and launch a web page, publish a photo book, organize two collectively curated photo exhibits, and publish an article on youth belonging and autonomy amidst violence. We aim to bring youths’ perspectives to the general public and start a discussion about violence, survival, and joy in marginalized urban communities.
