Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Redesigning Schools Of Social Work Into Schools Of Social Work And Social Justice: Opportunities For Civic And Organizational Renewal In A Justice Reform Environment, Bowen Mcbeath, Michael J. Austin

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper explores the re-envisioning of a school of social work into a School of Social Work and Social Justice. The thought experiment identifies how a school can meet its educational and social justice mission in response to the historic crises of 2020. An outgrowth of the aspirational strategic vision statement is the proposed strengthening of democratic learning spaces involving students and faculty members, better alignment of school curricular reform with human service workforce dynamics and social work practice needs, and an emphasis on culturally responsive leadership. The overall intention is to identify opportunities for social work schools and departments …

Maine Bisexual People's Network (Mbpn), Kat Hartford

POP 101: Queering the Archives

This presentation attempts to construct a history of the Maine Bisexual People’s Network (MBPN), drawing from primary sources from USM’s Special Collections, specifically from the LGBTQ+ Collection in the Jean Byers Sampson Center. Information includes when, why, and how the MBPN was founded, who founded the organization, important events in the MBPN’s history, and the experience of bisexuality for Mainers. Also included are images of the primary sources, such as clips from Our Paper: Serving the Alternative Community, a publication that served queer Mainers. While the MBPN was just one of several examples from Maine’s history of LGBTQ+ organizations, the …

Mapping Renewal: How An Unexpected Interdisciplinary Collaboration Transformed A Digital Humanities Project, Elise Tanner, Geoffrey Joseph

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Funded by a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Foundations Grant, the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture’s “Mapping Renewal” pilot project focused on creating access to and providing spatial context to archival materials related to racial segregation and urban renewal in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1954-1989. An unplanned interdisciplinary collaboration with the UA Little Rock Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) has proven to be an invaluable partnership. One team member from each department will demonstrate the Mapping Renewal website and discuss how the collaborative process has changed and shaped …

Mental Health Issues In First Responders: Their Causes And How To Help Treat Them, Anna M. Hoffnagle

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

In recent years mental health issues and how to deal with them has become a widely discussed topic in society. Causes and treatments tend to be major factors in the discussion, but they also tend to be far too general. The broadness of the targeted audience for these discussions often creates more issues than it solves due to treatments not being effective for every population. This paper highlights the causes of mental health issues in first responders while also discussing treatment methods designed specifically for this population that have had promising outcomes. Causes and treatments discussed are given solidity through …

Incorporating Environmental Justice Into Youth Education, Morgan F. Prittie

Community Engagement Student Work

Social Justice is a concept which is often glossed over or excluded from student education, particularly the issues associated with Environmental Justice. Discrimination, oppression, and poor environmental practices all coalesce into dangerously impactful issues, which can be combated by further education and exposure. This project seeks to spread awareness of Environmental Justice issues, provide educators with the tools to implement social justice education, and express the importance of such exposure to students. This interdisciplinary project utilizes the facilitation of a workshop with lessons, activities, and opportunities for participants to engage in discussions. The goal of the workshop was to describe …

Education For Liberation: Community Workshops To Recognize Human Trafficking, Sophia Palmacci

Community Engagement Student Work

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) is a highly profitable industry that plaques countries throughout the globe. There is no community left unscathed when it comes to who and who is not affected. The underlying issue is that many individuals do not understand that commercial sexual exploitation of children is taking place right here in their communities. The literature review will highlight three different theories, examine existing policy, and review preventative measures, to gain a deeper understanding of CSEC. The workshop implemented ways to increase overall awareness and education surrounding CSEC for local community members. More specifically, community members worked …

Complicating Homelessness: A Workshop For Students And Volunteers, Madeline Wadley

Community Engagement Student Work

Homelessness effects 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States, and approximately 22 out of every 10,000 people in the city of Asheville, NC. Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina (HBWNC) is a nonprofit organization working to prevent and end homelessness in Asheville through low-barrier services and Housing First practices. HBWNC relies on volunteers from the community and higher education institutions for support in running its programs. While most volunteer training focuses on the day-to-day tasks, boundaries, and procedures related to volunteering with HBWNC, this project focuses on the importance of giving volunteers a solid understanding of homelessness …

Fighting Human Trafficking And Exploitation Through The Power Of Local Policy And Programs: Analysis And Recommendations, Abby Torrice

Community Engagement Student Work

While the United States has made great strides since 2000 to combat human trafficking federally, there is still much to be done. This capstone project provides a comprehensive understanding of key terms related to human trafficking. These terms are then used to provide context to the reality of the issue of human trafficking and exploitation in our world today, and specifically the United States. Although human trafficking legislation has made swift advances at the federal level since 2000 and states have followed suit in creating their own policies, local municipalities and communities have an immense amount of power in creating …

Barriers, Challenges And Fears From Immigrants In Access To Healthcare: A Proposal For Undocumented Immigrants To Being Insured, Jose Gonzalez-Ibarra

Community Engagement Student Work

Access to healthcare is a global issue that needs to be addressed. Worldwide organizations have put efforts in place to overcome this problem and offer solutions and recommendations to various countries. However, these efforts have not been entirely successful. Receiving the highest attainable standard of health or only receiving care is extremely difficult or impossible for individuals who are considered vulnerable such as immigrants, especially those who are undocumented immigrants. Through the recognition of barriers, challenges and fears from immigrants accessing healthcare and a shape of social determinants of health, institutions of government, nonprofit sector and community members organized could …

Educating For Democracy: Policy Recommendations For The Revitalization Of Civic Learning In The United States, Meghan E. O'Brien

Community Engagement Student Work

The recent decades have brought upon a dramatic shift in the United States’ political and social climate. Increases in ideological polarization and extremism have taken hold as individual trust, knowledge, and participation in democratic processes has declined (Gould et al., 2011). These trends have contributed to the rising severity of social issues facing the United States - climate change, income inequality, systemic racism - as well as an inability to collectively address these issues. The need for a solution to these trends has never been greater as the nation struggles to perfect a democratic structure in which citizens are equitably …

Activating Vacant Spaces: An Art And Environmental Justice Project - Assessment In Cleveland, Ohio’S Slavic Village Neighborhood, Patrick Connolly

Community Engagement Student Work

The overdevelopment of cities has caused residents to suffer from environmental and economic harm. Situated near a steel mill and a highway, and with less than 20% tree canopy, the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio is a community that may be in need of environmental justice. The movement to introduce green elements to urban environments is growing, and there are clear economic benefits to greening urban areas. Using art as a tool for education, this project proposes a series of six sustainable art installations that attempt to teach the community about environmental issues. Using this art project as a …

Honors Contract Food Insecurity Paper, Avery Brillo

Honors Program Contracts

No abstract provided.

Youth Involvement In Street Gangs: Obstacles Of Leaving Street Gangs, Edvaldo Do Rosario Lopes Ferreira

Community Engagement Student Work

Even though there seems to be a good number of youth programs that focus on youth street gang prevention, there is a shortage of programs that offer opportunities so youth can leave street gangs and promote a street gang-free lifestyle (Young & Gonzalez, 2013). The workshop, Obstacles of Leaving Street Gangs, intended to engage local community residents and organizations who do youth programming in a meaningful discussion about street gangs and the obstacles to leave and also share personal stories of people who have successfully left street gangs. This workshop also meant to share resources that help with these obstacles. …

Increasing Soil Carbon With Rapid Regenerative Agriculture, Nash Leef, Rachel Gerdes, Trevor Kohrs

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Increasing Soil Carbon with Rapid Regenerative Agriculture with client City of Lincoln, Nebraska (Frank Uhlarik).

Community Crops Composting Project, Kelly Emery, Tess Foxall

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community Projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Community Crops Composting Project with client Community Crops (Amy Gerdes).

Net-Zero Affordable Housing, Nash Kelly, Calee Martin, Morgan Davis

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Net-Zero Affordable Housing with client City of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Celebrate 10 Years With Platte Basin Timelapse, Madison Husmann, Madison Smart, Justine Cherovsky

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Celebrate 10 Years with Platte River Basin with client Brooke Talbott.

Saving Pollinators With The Power Of Les, Ben Breske, Emma Chesley, Drew Havens

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Saving Pollinators with the Power of LES with client Lincoln Electric System (LES, Lincoln, Nebraska; Melissa Landis).

Southern Heights Food Forest Plant Information And Map, Oceana Mcbride, Jenna Mccoy, Abigail Ridder

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Souther Heights Food Forest Plant Information and Map with client Southern Heights Food Forest (Molly Phemister).

Communication And Social Education Of Emissions And Energy Use In Nebraska, Maya Kaechele, Diana Mcgraw, Kyle Hauder

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, spring 2021

Poster titled Communication and Social Education of Emissions and Energy Use in Nebraska with clients City of Grand Island, Nebraska; City of Norfolk, Nebraska; and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.