Social Action Project (SOCACT) -- 1990 to present
The SOCACT is headquartered in the Psychology Department of Indiana University South Bend. It operates in South Bend, IN; Benton Harbor, MI; and Durban, South Africa. The project develops empowerment models to help individuals and communities gain mastery over the problems they face daily.
It is an on-going program, with members traveling between the South Bend and Durban in alternate years. The SOCACT has teams of students and other professionals who develop interventions in collaboration with community members. Ultimately, the research findings will be used to change university curricula, social policy, and public perceptions.
The SOCACT joint community-university projects operate simultaneously.
Youth Community Theater: This project aims to take the model for empowering
vulnerable peoples used by Umcebo Trust (Durban, South Africa) and implement it
with a group in South Bend, IN. The model provides a platform where
people can come together, share their skills and learn new ones, and generate an
income. The result is a creative fusion of art and crafts with social
intervention.
Poetry Jams: a monthly
open mike session to bridge the gap of cultural diversity, helping to heal
racism and sexism through self-expression. New poets and veterans come to read
their works. The works are published in chap books and an anthology is currently
being developed.
Sexual Minorities and
Alternative Lifestyles (SMAAL): One of the initiatives, called Breaking Silence,
deals with intimate violence within lesbian and gay relationships through focus
groups and a website
http://breakingsilence.com
The second initiative, called
Homosexuality and
Addictions, is survey research to examine alcohol and drug addictions in the
LGBT community and the role of alienation.
Children's Rights Initiative:
A collaboration with
Arts for Humanity (www.afh.org.za)
this project involves an invitation to female artists and poets, with
an emphasis on black artists as traditionally disadvantaged, to create
works focused on the theme of Children’s Rights as defined by the
Children’s Charter in South Africa. Artists and poets will be invited
to represent the peoples of the Kwa-Zulu-Natal (KZN) region.
The advocacy program involves three strategies: 1. Art exhibitions
which will target policy makers and those that influence public
opinion; 2. Billboards which target the outdoor public; and 3. Posters
which will target the indoor public. Additional to this AfH will also
produce a catalogue of the work, which includes contributions by the
endorsers and partner organisations. This will be distributed at the
exhibitions, to schools, and
other educational institutions.
Recovery
International:
involving replications in
Durban, South Africa. The Youth Community Theater will partner with UMCEBO
Trust, a nonprofit organization devoted to using the arts so that
vulnerable peoples can develop
marketable skills. The
Poetry Jams will partner with Nowadayz Poets to produce an
anthology of stories and poems about building unity and
overcoming sexism and racism. The SMAAL component will develop an
international action network to add the voices of LGBT community members to the rights discussion.
Giving Hope Project Evaluation: This
process evaluation will be conducted with programs in four countries of
East Africa: Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. The project goal is
to protect the rights of and to provide support to orphans and
vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS that they may be empowered to
manage their own well being and the stability of their families, to
participate in the social and economic development of their
communities. The project also seeks to expand the reach of churches and
grassroots organizations in meeting the needs of orphans and vulnerable
children (OVC) affected by HIV/AIDS.
Benton Harbor Project (BHP) -- 1986-1990
The BHP was a joint initiative between Michigan State
University and the City of Benton Harbor to use the resources of the university
to address urban problems. The purpose of this action research was to develop
interracial coalitions between loosely defined community-based groups and, in
the process, identify the elements critical to maintaining such a network. The
study used theories of resource mobilization to identify who talks to whom,
about what, and to what outcome. The results point to the role of external
agents of change, working with sociometric “stars,” to create sustainable
interventions.
In the overall BHP effort, my role was as the community psychologist on the
Leadership Team.