Nonprofit Studies Commons^™

Benefits And Challenges Of Collaborative Networks Addressing Food System Disruptions During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dikshya Dahal, Tania Schusler

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food systems with disproportionate impacts on marginalized social groups, which in the USA included racial and ethnic minorities, working class families, immigrants, seniors, and people with disabilities, among others. The pandemic also greatly affected the operations of nonprofit organizations, which play important roles in disaster response. We explored how social networks supported non-profit organizations’ efforts to address increased food insecurity and food-related business disruptions during the pandemic in the Chicago region, IL, USA. We used mixed methods including a Social Network Analysis (SNA) of 48 organizations and their reported partners plus focus group discussions with representatives …

Strategies To Mitigate The Effects Of Negative Political Rhetoric On Service Providers: A Study In Two Refugee-Serving Organizations, Maria V. Wathen, Charity N. Weishar, Patrick L.F. Decker

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper explores the strategies that staff at two refugee-serving organizations found helpful in mitigating their increased distress from negative political rhetoric aimed at their clients. Results point to the importance of organizational acknowledgement of the distress. Additionally, staff perceived that intentionally focused organizational interventions can mitigate the emotional impacts of negative rhetoric. Finally, strategies employees used to lessen their distress and regain a sense of efficacy included recommitment to the mission, advocacy for refugees among family and friends, strong reliance on religious faith in coping, and an avoidance of the rhetoric by decreasing engagement with news and social media.

Towards Improving Engagement Of Youth Of Color In Cross-Age Mentoring Programs In High Poverty, High Crime Neighborhoods, Maria V. Wathen, Patrick L.F. Decker, Maryse H. Richards, Katherine Tyson Mccrea, Cynthia Onyeka, Charity N. Weishar, Donnelly Will

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study examines predictors of attendance in a cross-age youth mentoring program offered in four high-poverty, high-crime communities. Youth in greatest need of after school and summer interventions are those residing in such communities, but programs are scarce. More specific to mentoring programs that do exist, past research has demonstrated the significance of attendance as a predictor of positive outcomes. Two datasets were combined for this study: The Saving Lives, Inspiring Youth (SLIY) mentoring program dataset and a neighborhood database. OLS regression results show that for all participants, traveling from a lower-crime home area to a program in a higher-crime …

The Impact Of U.S. Refugee Policy Change & Political Rhetoric On Nonprofit Service Providers’ Emotional Well-Being, Maria V. Wathen, Patrick L.F. Decker, Charity N. Weishar

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study examines how U.S. refugee policy changes from 2014 to 2018 affected the emotional well-being of nonprofit service providers. Elements identified by participants as emotionally significant were funding cuts, the “bans”, the unpredictable nature of policy change, and most impactful, negative political rhetoric. Emotional wellbeing was negatively affected and included an increase in stress, anger, sadness, despair, depression, helplessness, frustration, and caution. Negative impacts were also felt with regard to professional identities and to relationships with family, friends, and strangers. Importantly, impact on emotional wellbeing differed by level of organization at which the participant worked and by organizational characteristics.

Local Nonprofit Welfare Provision: The United States And Russia, Maria V. Wathen, Scott W. Allard

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Provision of antipoverty and other social services by nonstate organizations is growing in importance in both the United States and the Russian Federation. The history of such provision in the United States may offer insights for the emerging system of nonstate provision in Russia. To illuminate these points, we provide historical overviews of both contexts and then we examine data from two surveys of social service organizations in the United States: the Multi-City Survey of Social Service Providers and the Rural Survey of Social Service Providers.

We find that nonstate actors strengthen social capital in poor neighborhoods and often link …