Eckstrom: "Racial Equity Consciousness Institute - Bradford Campus In-Person Cohort”  

MSW Regional Program Director, Pitt-Bradford MSW Program Stephanie Eckstrom received a Year of Discourse and Dialogue Grant for her project "Racial Equity Consciousness Institute - Bradford Campus In-Person Cohort.” Associate Director of the Center on Race and Social Problems, Ron Idoko, founded the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute (RECI) in 2021. RECI's mission is to provide individuals and communities with the tools to actively deconstruct racism and cultivate racial equity.

This cohort is open to all campus stakeholders: students, faculty, and staff.

Abusuampeh: "Space for Voice, Race, and Social Problems Discourse" 

Doctoral student Daniel Abusuampeh received a Year of Discourse and Dialogue Grant for his program: "Space for Voice, Race, and Social Problems Discourse." The program is a pioneering initiative aimed at fostering a supportive environment for meaningful conversations on racial and societal issues among students. Leveraging the university's commitment to dialogue, this program seeks to utilize the diverse backgrounds of the student body to address racial and social challenges through dialogue and collaboration. The program aims to enhance cognitive abilities and foster a deeper understanding of complex issues while also addressing the need for open discussions giving voice to all students. 

The program's objectives include creating an inclusive atmosphere, educating on race and social equity complexities, promoting actionable solutions, and strengthening community and collective action among students. Activities planned include a kickoff event with a social justice advocate, discussion forums, workshops on cultural competency and anti-racism, and collaborative projects, culminating in a symposium to showcase student initiatives.

Blair: " Parenting for Racial Equity: Assuring the Next Generation of Antiracists."  

Doctoral student Sommer Blair received a Year of Discourse and Dialogue Grant for her project " Parenting for Racial Equity: Assuring the Next Generation of Antiracists."  The Parenting for Racial Equity project aims to convene and impact a diverse body of university members across racial, positional, generational, and familial lines to deliberate on what it means to parent for racial justice in white families and in communities of color. While families of color have engaged in these practices for generations, White families do so much less frequently, and rarely have multiracial bodies of caregivers been convened to engage in meaningful discourse that will allow for the interrogation of our own biases and the development of common understanding and good that will strengthen not only ourselves but the next generation of Pitt community members. The result of this intergroup discourse will be a pilot program that builds on successful and nationally leading initiatives at Pitt (Racial Equity Consciousness Institute, Parenting While Black), that ultimately will equip white parents with perspectives and tools to support antiracist journeys in their families, as not only individuals but as caretakers of the next generation.  

The Race and Youth Development Research (RaYDR) team from the Center on Race and Social Problems is leading the charge on this one! Blair is the PI and will be working closely with the other project leads whose work the Parenting for Racial Equity project (PREP) is based on – Ron Idoko (Racial Equity Consciousness Institute, RECI) and James Huguley, (Parenting While Black, PWB).

Contreras-Amezcua: "Leading Social Work Students to LEAD - Legislative Education and Advocacy Day"

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua, Outreach and Engagement Assistant at the Center on Race and Social Problems and MSW student, received a Year of Discourse and Dialogue Grant for their project "Leading Social Work Students to LEAD - Legislative Education and Advocacy Day." This initiative seeks to provide social work students an opportunity to attend one of the biggest social work policy-facing events of the year in the state of Pennsylvania, Legislative Education and Advocacy Day. This project aims to tackle the barriers of cost to allow social work students, especially those interested in policy work, to attend a conference they can not only benefit from through policy education but also through practicing their advocacy skills that align with the NASW Code of Ethics. 

This project will be led by Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua, BSW – an MSW student at the Pitt School of Social Work and the Center on Race and Social Problems Outreach and Engagement assistant. Supervisors of this grant are Dr. Aliya Durham and Ron Idoko.

Flourishing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities and Beyond: Developing Cross-Cultural Awareness, Advocacy, and Alliance

Join us for the first symposium focusing on mental health issues within the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population. This event, titled "Flourishing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities and Beyond: Developing Cross-Cultural Awareness, Advocacy, and Alliance," was spearheaded by two doctoral students, Christina Babusci and Jenn Lee, and kindly supported by Dr. Deborah Moon. The symposium will be held on Thursday, March 7th, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM at the Ohara Student Dining Room. Lunch and CEs will be provided. Please RSVP as space is limited.

Telling the Stories of Gentrification

In this participatory action research study ‘Innovating Methodologies for Examining Gentrification-Induced Social and Cultural Displacement: An Illustration of Integrating Photovoice into Story Map’, Brittany Davis, Kirk A. Foster, Ronald O. Pitner, Nikki R. Wooten, and Mary L. Ohmer illustrate how photo-voice and GIS mapping supports long-time African American residents of a gentrifying neighborhood to tell their stories as well as using those stories for advocacy. The participants captured images of neighborhood changes and explored what it meant to them to be residents of a shifting and changing community. Read more.

Community Matters in Aging

In their new paper ‘Residential Segregation, Perceived Neighborhood Environment, and All-Cause Mortality Among Community-Dwelling Older Chinese Americans’, Yanping Jiang, PhD, Yuyang Zhu, MA, Fengyan Tang, PhD, Tammy Chung, PhD, and Bei Wu, PhD examine the effects of residential neighborhood cohesion and segregation on mortality among Chinese American older adults. Although it is well documented that neighborhoods play a key role in health outcomes for older adults, there has been limited research on Chinese American older adults, and this study sought to close that gap. Read more.

Looking Critically at Functional Family Therapy

In their new paper, ‘Functional Family Therapy for families of youth (age 11–18) with behaviour problems: A systematic review and meta‐analysis’, Julia H. Littell, Therese D. Pigott, Karianne H. Nilsen, Jennifer Roberts, and Travis K. Labrum show how the data on the effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is limited and inconclusive. Although proponents of this approach argue that it is far more effective and less expensive than other interventions, the authors of this study highlight how the current data on FFT is incomplete and prone to bias. Read more.

Pitt Student Makes a Difference with Refugee Youth

When University of Pittsburgh Social Work student and Boston native Shawna Kaplan started her internship with JFCS Youth Services’ Bridge Builders program in August, she knew she wanted to make a difference in the lives of the refugee youth. She first heard about JFCS’s work through her Jewish community in Pittsburgh and decided to apply to intern there. One of her first tasks was to enroll refugee students in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gives children access to free books. “As I was visiting clients, I realized that a lot of families didn’t have books in their homes,” Shawna explained. She started thinking of ways they could help get more books into the clients’ hands. Read more.

Student to present at National Conference on Social Work and HIV/AIDS

MSW student Stavi Xinos' proposal, "The Intersections of Intimate Partner Violence, HIV, Trans and Queer Identities, and Substance Use" was selected for the 36th National Conference on Social Work and HIV/AIDS. The session will take place on Friday, May 24, 2024 at 11:30am in Orlando, Florida.

The project's learning objectives include recognizing the unique forms of abuse & institutional barriers experienced by survivors who are HIV-positive, Queer and Transgender, and/or in active substance use, advocating for the inclusion, dignity, and safety of these populations within agencies, systems, and communities, and gaining an understanding of harm reduction and its benefits in serving diverse, marginalized populations. Read more.

YWCA highlights BASW student

The YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh's latest newsletter profiled BASW student Early Learning Intern Liz Devine. Devine shared: "The best thing about working at YWCA Greater Pittsburgh is that I am helping hard-working parents, staff, and teachers provide vital resources and care for their community's children."

Pitt pays tribute to MSW alumna during Black History Month

Seven members of the Pitt community will be recognized for their volunteerism and commitment to equality and justice during the University’s annual K. Leroy Irvis Black History Month celebration on Feb. 26th including MSW alumna Medina Jackson who won the Social Justice Advocate Award. Jackson, (Social Work, ’03G) is director of engagement for P.R.I.D.E. (Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education) in Pitt’s Office of Child Development. her peers say that Jackson has consistently advanced the efforts of teaching artists by engaging them in work with young children in the community — in particular, during P.R.I.D.E.’s Pop-Up Mini Art Festivals. Read more in the University Times.

Honors College hosts Changemakers in Art panels for Black History Month

The series kicked off with “Visual Arts Panel,” which featured the Frederick Honors College’s Artist-in-Residence and MSW alumna Morgan Overton. Ron Idoko, director of social innovation for the Honors College and associate director of the Center on Race and Social Problems, moderated the visual arts panel. He said in creating the event, his office wanted students to become cognizant of how their imagination can be a tool for creating change. Read more in the Pitt News.

This Pitt junior’s podcast is transforming communities through conversation

Speaking with Ron Idoko at the 2023 Black History Month event, podcast host Ian Kehinde asked if they could work together. Idoko shared a goal of the Frederick Honors College: Office of Social Innovation in Honors Education program to increase outreach and engagement and invited Kehinde to submit ideas.

“Let’s Talk Social Innovation” was born. Read more in Pittwire.

MSW alumna on Pitt podcast

MSW alumna Lisa Freeman was featured in the Let's Talk Social innovation Podcast (which is hosted by Pitt student Ian Kehinde and sponsored by the Frederick Honors College and the Center on Race and Social Problems)

Podcast Link: Episode 5 (ft. Lisa Freeman) - Gentrification, Gardening, and Community Building (youtube.com)

ICYMI: CRSPConnect Newsletter

Read about the latest news from the Center on Race and Social Problems.