Christian Loredo-Duran
Pronouns: he/him/his
Research Mentor(s): Jaime Hoffman
Co-Presenter: Klait, Noor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: / NonUM
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Oral5
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: Breakout room 2
Authors: Christian Loredo-Duran, Jaime Hoffman
Presenter: 4
Abstract
United Way of Washtenaw County (UWWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to community activism and advocacy. As an organization, it seeks to uncover the different barriers that lead to racism, poverty, and trauma in Washtenaw County. This is done in order to bring awareness to the realities experienced by different community members and create a more equitable home for everyone, one in which no one is defined by the obstacles that exist in their own community. UWWC has identified categories of access to health, childhood success, economic mobility, and youth success and effectively performed prior research centered around these areas. Previously published reports include their “Strategic Plan Executive Summary†and their “ALICE in Michigan: A Financial Hardship Study†which focus on analyzing the cycle of social and economic injustice endured by communities in Washtenaw County. The strategic plan was executed from the year 2018 through 2021 as a framework to effectively promote a community cycle in which everyone has an equal ability to succeed. This is a plan that has enabled the research of racism, poverty, and trauma through secondary data available online. Sources researched include but are not limited to news articles, previous studies, and community reports/statistics. The purpose of the strategic plan, research, and advocacy work performed are to foster a community in which zip codes no longer determine the opportunity in life for individuals. This is a goal that is intended to be achieved by the year 2030 and the research findings concluded by Noor and I effectively contribute to uncovering the ways in which the indicators listed above are directly correlated to racism, poverty, and trauma that hinders community members from reaching their full potential. Ultimately, this enables us to compare past and current community conditions and conclude how effective UWWC has been in promoting positive community advocacy through its proposed strategic plan.
Interdisciplinary, Public Health, Social Sciences
