Past Grant Recipients

View an archive of past grant recipients. Each recipient has demonstrated evidence of a strong commitment from at least one community partner who will be directly involved in their project.

2017-2018 Grant Recipients

Recognizing Rutgers’ responsibility to be a strong partner in New Brunswick, the university provides grants up to $25,000 to support community-based participatory research in the city.

Below are the grant recipients for the July 1, 2017–June 30, 2018 grant period.

 

Rethink, Redesign, Revitalize: A Pilot Program to Radically Change the Educational Experience for New Brunswick Ninth Graders
Rutgers co-director: David Shernoff, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education and Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Community co-director: Aubrey Johnson, New Brunswick Public Schools

This collaborative venture will challenge high school teachers to rethink curricula, redesign instructional practices, and revitalize student motivation while introducing a new approach to organizing the school day. Central to the effort is an iSTEAM Academy, an unusually powerful learning experience that integrates creative thinking and design into the hard sciences. Teachers of incoming first-year students at New Brunswick High School will be guided and supported via a four-day summer workshop and monthly professional learning community meetings throughout the school year. Rutgers researchers will evaluate the program’s effectiveness, assessing teacher empowerment and student engagement, and disseminate their findings.

 

Youth in Action: Partnership for Civic Learning and Engagement
Rutgers co-director: Beth C. Rubin, Graduate School of Education
Community co-director: Marnie McKoy, New Brunswick Public Schools

This partnership is designed to build on the diversity and strengths of New Brunswick public school students by engaging them in civic action research on critical school and community topics. By empowering young people to take an active role in their communities, this project seeks to foster the analytical, literacy, and communication skills that are essential to informed citizenship. This project will provide valuable insight into the potential of civic action research to engage youth, foster educational relationships, and develop the capacity of teachers to be critical civic educators while furthering Rutgers’ community partnership goals of citizenship, leadership, and youth development.

 

Addressing Tobacco Use Among Public Housing Residents
Rutgers co-director: Marc Steinberg, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Community co-director: John Clarke, New Brunswick Housing Authority

Tobacco use is a significant problem in public housing, affecting smokers, their neighbors who inhale second-hand smoke, and the housing authority that must address and pay for cigarette-related damage. By means of a randomized clinical trial, this pilot project will examine strategies for encouraging smokers living in public housing units to quit using tobacco. Not only does this partnership have the potential to improve public health by decreasing smoking rates among residents, it coincides with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development smoking ban to be implemented by the New Brunswick Housing Authority in July 2017.

 

Helping Low-Income Children Achieve a Healthy Weight Through Targeted Health Education Classes
Rutgers co-director: John Worobey, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Robin McRoberts, Visiting Nurse Association Health Group-WIC

Caregivers of low-income children enrolled in WIC—the federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—currently receive nutrition education in addition to food and other support. This project seeks to determine if a comprehensive health education intervention designed for obese preschoolers (age 2 to 5 years) enrolled in WIC–New Brunswick is more effective than standard nutrition education in reducing or maintaining weight status. A successful program could potentially be implemented at WIC offices statewide, helping to reverse the unenviable high rate of childhood obesity in New Jersey.

 

Wellness Interventions for Life’s Demands and Workforce Development
Rutgers co-director: Karen Lin, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Community co-director: Anthony Capece, Elijah’s Promise

How do we empower vulnerable people to take health into their own hands?  One strategy is to integrate wellness interventions into workforce-training programs for populations with limited access to these services. This project will assess the effectiveness of WILD 5 Wellness, a 90-day prescriptive, and trackable wellness intervention combining five elements including exercise, mindfulness, sleep, social connectedness, and nutrition in improving the wellbeing of students enrolled in a longstanding New Brunswick culinary vocational program. 

 

Growing Developmental Assets: Measuring the Impact of Teen Community Leadership in an Urban Community Garden
Rutgers co-director: Laura Bovitz, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Karen Stuppi, New Brunswick Free Public Library

The New Brunswick 4-H program delivers life skills–focused after-school clubs and programs to at-risk youth in New Brunswick through partnerships with community organizations. One effort, the New Brunswick 4-H Teen Council, has achieved success in encouraging leadership and civic engagement. This project seeks to more accurately assess the skills attainment of council participants and their impact in the community by studying teen involvement in the development of community garden programs for younger children. The study findings will inform improvements in leadership training programs, increase empowerment for teen participants, and broaden outreach to young, vulnerable youth at an age that is particularly responsive to mentoring.

2016-2017 Grant Recipients

Recognizing Rutgers’ responsibility to be a strong partner in New Brunswick, the university provides grants up to $25,000 to support community-based participatory research in the city. Below are the grant recipients for the July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017 grant period.

 

A Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Blood Pressure Among Immigrant Hispanic Adults
Rutgers co-director: Karen D'Alonzo, Division of Nursing Science, School of Nursing
Community co-director: Teresa Vivar, Lazos America Unida, Inc.

Hypertension is not an equal opportunity illness and is likely underdiagnosed and undertreated among Hispanics. One factor contributing to hypertension is allostatic load (AL), the adverse physiological effects of chronic stress. Chronic acculturation-related stressors may influence AL and hypertension among immigrant Hispanics. The goals of this grant project are twofold. First, a pilot study will assess the effectiveness of exercise and stress-management interventions facilitated by apromotora—a community member trained in basic health education—in decreasing blood pressure and AL among a group of Hispanic immigrants. Second, an analysis will seek to identify coping styles associated with hypertension and increased AL in this population.

 

Creating School of Character Teams: Building Capacity for Student Success in New Brunswick
Rutgers co-director: Maurice Elias, Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences
Community co-director: Aubrey A. Johnson, New Brunswick Public Schools

This project builds on a 2012–2013 Community-University Research Partnership grant to improve school culture and climate (SCC) at New Brunswick Middle School (NBMS). For nurturing a positive, sustainable climate in which students and staff became genuine collaborators, NBMS was recognized in 2015 with a national Promising Practice Award and is now seeking recognition as a National School of Character. The district plans to build on this success by expanding the NBMS model across all of its schools. This grant project will support the creation of effective, self-directed SCC teams within each school, thereby promoting sustainable change for student success throughout the district.

 

Evaluation of Breakfast After the Bell in New Brunswick Public Schools
Rutgers co-director: Cara Cuite, Department of Human Ecology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Patricia Sadowski and Jennifer Shukaitis, New Brunswick Board of Education

This project will evaluate Breakfast After the Bell, a program that offers free breakfast to all K–8 students and was implemented in the New Brunswick Public Schools in 2014. Researchers will conduct in-depth interviews with school administrators, food service and facilities personnel, school nurses, and family social workers. Teachers and parents will be invited to participate in online surveys, and schoolchildren will participate in focus groups about the program. By using this multi-method approach with multiple stakeholder groups, the evaluation will identify key successes and challenges of the program and provide recommendations for improvement.

 

Long-Term Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors: Supporting Journeys to Healing
Rutgers co-director: Andrea Hetling, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community co-director: Susan Kramer-Mills, Town Clock Community Development Corporation

Dina’s Dwellings, a project of the Town Clock Community Development Corporation, provides affordable permanent supportive housing to formerly homeless survivors of intimate partner violence. Opened within the First Reformed Church of New Brunswick in March 2016, Dina’s Dwellings consists of 10 newly renovated apartments and provides supportive services aimed at building community and assisting women in rebuilding healthy lives. This grant project seeks to evaluate the housing program’s first year of operation, with a focus on understanding the new residents’ experiences and perceptions of its services and programs.

 

Enhancing the Accessibility of New Brunswick’s History
Rutgers co-director: David Listokin, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community co-director: Robert Belvin, New Brunswick Free Public Library

Maps, documents, and photographs from New Brunswick’s rich past demonstrate that the city is an exemplary model for the history of industrialization, urban decline, and urban revitalization. Much of this archival material, however, is not cataloged or even publicly accessible. Working with community partners, including the New Brunswick Free Public Library and the New Brunswick Historical Association and Historical Society, this grant project will research, organize, and catalog significant materials; conduct a preservation assessment and plan; and develop a website to help guide researchers and the public to these valuable historical resources.

2014-2015 Grant Recipients

Recognizing Rutgers’ responsibility to be a strong partner in New Brunswick, the university provides grants up to $25,000 to support community-based participatory research in the city.

Below are the grant recipients for the July 1, 2014–June 30, 2015 grant period.

A Study of the Working Conditions of Women Warehouse Workers in New Brunswick
Rutgers co-director: Dana Britton, Center for Women and Work, Department of Labor Studies, School of Management and Labor Relations
Community co-director: Marién Casillas Pabellón, New Labor

Warehouses in northern and central New Jersey, including in the city of New Brunswick, employ thousands of workers – mostly Latino immigrants – who pack goods for the largest retailers in the country. This research is a partnership between New Labor and the Center for Women and Work. We will focus on women warehouse workers, documenting how gender matters – how it shapes recruitment, training, experiences of work, and efforts to balance work and family life. The research will inform New Labor’s efforts to meet the needs of this workforce and the broader academic literature on immigrant women workers.

 

Backpacks Across Generations/Mochilas a través de generaciones: Family Engagement in Support of Early Math and Science Readiness
Rutgers co-director: Alissa Lange, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Graduate School of Education
Community co-director: Rita Koromi, PRAB

Backpacks Across Generations/Mochilas a través de generaciones is a partnership between the Puerto Rican Action Board (PRAB) and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) to develop an innovative educational program for preschoolers and the adults in their lives. Families are invited to monthly workshops to learn and play, then take home a backpack filled with bilingual books, games, and activities with a math or science theme. A series of interviews and surveys will measure participants’ educational growth and perceived benefit to children, and inform strategy for maximized usability, appeal and educational value in future similar programming.

 

Hub City Fresh – A Healthy Corner Store Initiative
Rutgers co-director: Nurgul Fitzgerald, Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Briana Suffy, Office of the Mayor, City of New Brunswick

The City of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Community Food Alliance, and the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers will work together to establish a healthy corner store initiative in New Brunswick. Through a participatory approach, this initiative will aim to solidify community level change to help achieve a healthier food environment in the city. Corner food stores will receive assistance in obtaining, displaying, and marketing healthful foods and beverages. Progress and outcomes will be evaluated by observation of instituted changes, sales of the healthful items, and interviews with store owners, managers, and customers.

 

New Brunswick School District Truancy/Dropout Prevention Study
Rutgers co-director: Rachel Lyons, 4-H Youth Development, Rutgers Cooperative Extension/New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station/School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Richard Kaplan, New Brunswick Public Schools

The New Brunswick School District Truancy/Dropout Prevention Study will allow for a more in-depth understanding of the factors driving chronic absenteeism rates. This project will utilize a variety of peer-reviewed evaluation instruments (e.g. National Truancy Prevention Survey) to gain a greater understanding of the perspectives of key players (i.e. students, teachers, and parents/guardians) on the processes involved with New Brunswick’s truancy and dropout occurrences. This research will lead to the long term implementation of several possible key solutions (e.g. modification of existing programs/services, introduction of youth reengagement center initiatives, etc.) aimed at improving graduation rates among New Brunswick School District students.

 

Parenting Wisely: Parent Training to Reduce the Risk Factors for Gang Involvement
Rutgers co-director: Antoinette Farmer, School of Social Work
Community co-director: Rebecca Escobar, PRAB

Children and adolescents residing in urban environments are at risk for gang involvement. The Puerto Rican Action Board (PRAB) currently has a secondary prevention program that targets youth, ages 13-15, at risk for gang involvement. This program consists of six months of group intervention and six months of mentoring. This collaboration will focus on adding an evidence-based parenting component to PRAB’s current prevention program. Research has indicated that problems in parenting put youth at risk for gang involvement. This collaboration will yield information about the effectiveness of a parenting training program for parents of youth at risk for gang involvement.

2013-2014 Grant Recipients

Recognizing Rutgers’ responsibility to be a strong partner in New Brunswick, the university provides grants up to $25,000 to support community-based participatory research in the city. 

Below are the grant recipients for the July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014 grant period. 

 

Building Gardens and Capacity with the Community Gardening Movement in New Brunswick
Rutgers co-director: Laura Lawson, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Paul Helms, Elijah's Promise

Rutgers Landscape Architecture faculty and students will work with New Brunswick community garden leaders and participants to jointly design and implement improvements to the Shiloh Community Garden and Archibald Community Garden through research, participatory design, and implementation. A pre- and post-action survey will assess attitudes regarding civic engagement, gardening knowledge, and the community-university partnership itself to inform ongoing strategic planning.

 

Building on Cultural Capital through Participatory Action Research and Social Enterprise
Rutgers co-director: Donna Van Alst, School of Social Work
Community co-director: Mario Vargas, PRAB

PRAB, a multi-service agency, will work with faculty from the schools of Social Work and Business to conduct a participatory action research project that will result in improved understanding of the issues facing New Brunswick’s diverse and growing Latino population. In addition, the plan will develop a social venture through which PRAB will supply translation services and Spanish-speaking data collectors to University and other research concerns, facilitating the inclusion of Latinos in research studies.

 

Enhancing Mathematical and Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Middle Grades
Rutgers co-director: Amy Cohen-Corwin, School of Arts and Sciences
Community co-director: John Anzul, New Brunswick Public Schools

The New Brunswick Public Schools and the Rutgers Center for Math, Science, and Computer Education will collaborate on a project to enhance the capacity of teachers in grades 6-8 to engage students more deeply and more successfully in learning and using mathematics. Using facilitated Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), participating teachers from NBPS will reconsider mathematical content and mathematical pedagogy in light of current progress in cognitive science and learning theory. Research and evaluation components will measure increased teacher knowledge and examine how teachers modify classroom practice throughout the project.

 

Guided Physical Activity for Latino Diabetics
Rutgers co-director: Sandra Echeverria, School of Public Health
Community co-director: Mariam Merced, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

New Brunswick encompasses a large population of low-income residents, a large majority of whom are Latino individuals with a high risk of diabetes. In collaboration with RWJUH, Latino diabetics will have free access to the Health and Wellness Center in New Brunswick. In addition to the membership incentive, participants will receive culturally relevant support mechanisms to increase physical activity, including a peer-led buddy system, a guided tour of the Wellness Center, and periodic monitoring of changes in physical fitness. The program aims to build awareness of the importance of physical activity for diabetes management as well as overall health.

 

New Brunswick Preschool Behavior Screening System–Spanish Scale (NB PBSS–Spanish)
Rutgers co-director: Ryan J. Kettler, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Community co-director: Lauren Carrington, The Tiny Tots Spot

Behavioral and emotional screening measures are useful in identifying children who may be at risk for later developing serious, disabling conditions. Currently, there exist few screening measures targeting young children, with even fewer tailored for Spanish-speaking populations. This study aims to develop a Spanish language parent version of the Preschool Behavior Screening System (PBSS), using a rigorous translation process. The purpose of this study is to expand the availability of behavioral and emotional screening measures and increase the accessibility and usability of these scales to New Brunswick’s rapidly growing Spanish-speaking population.

2012-2013 Grant Recipients

Rutgers announced a grant program with awards up to $25,000 to support community-based participatory research in the city.

Below are the grant recipients for the July 1, 2012–June 30, 2013 grant period. 

Community and Backyard Gardening in New Brunswick’s Urban Soils: Providing Locally Grown Food While Protecting Human Health
Rutgers co-director: Michele Bakacs, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Lorena Gaibor, Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, Unity Square Partnership

Though New Brunswick residents are actively engaged in community and backyard gardening initiatives, urban soils in the community have elevated levels of lead. To protect human health, Rutgers researchers and Unity Square Partnership will sample local soils with detected elevated lead concentrations. Researchers will conduct greenhouse experiments to determine the metal uptake rates of herbs and produce popular in the community. Following, dietary risk analysis and safe gardening practices will be developed. Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County will deliver this information to New Brunswick gardeners via a lead-safe gardening training program, and Spanish language communication materials will be created.

 

Partnership for New Brunswick Job Search Solutions
Rutgers co-director: Carl Van Horn, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community co-director: Timothy Timberlake, New Brunswick Public Schools Adult Learning Center; Jane Brady, Middlesex County Workforce Investment Board

The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and the New Brunswick Public Schools Adult Learning Center are partnering to improve job search attitudes, behaviors, and employment outcomes for unemployed Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in New Brunswick. This project includes two innovative career development activities for participants of the TANF Job Search program: a speaker series and an innovative, behavior-based, soft skills (e.g. conflict resolution) training module. The partners will also implement an evidence-based professional development program to enhance the TANF Job Search staff’s capacity to help job seekers return to work and maintain employment.

 

Increasing Food Security for the Homebound Elderly in New Brunswick
Rutgers co-director: Cara Cuite, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: Shareka Fitz, Meals on Wheels in Greater New Brunswick

This grant seeks to understand and overcome barriers to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) enrollment among homebound elderly Meals on Wheels in Greater New Brunswick (MOWGNB) clients in an effort to increase their food security. Using semi-structured interviews, researchers will develop SNAP educational materials and a culturally- and age-appropriate protocol for in-home screening and enrollment in SNAP. Rutgers Learning to End Hunger students will then use the protocol to screen and enroll interested, eligible MOWGNB clients, revising the protocol as needed. While this will directly benefit individuals involved in the project by increasing their food budget, the creation and dissemination of the protocol and best practices materials may benefit homebound elderly throughout the county and country.

 

Transforming New Brunswick Middle School into a School of Character and Excellence: No Alibis, No Excuses, No Exceptions
Rutgers co-director: Maurice Elias, School of Arts and Sciences
Community co-director: Richard Kaplan, New Brunswick Public School District

This grant will aim to strengthen New Brunswick Middle School against dropout, loss of student motivation, and academic failure. Researchers will conduct a school climate assessment among students and staff, evaluate programs currently in place, identify gaps in the programming, and decide on a set of social-emotional skills and core values that the school wants to prioritize in its teaching. The end goal is the creation of a positive, sustainable climate in which students and staff become genuine collaborators in a school of character and academic excellence. The core values identified will be disseminated to the school, parents, and wider community.

 

The City of New Brunswick Sustainable Safe Streets Initiative
Rutgers co-director: Bob Noland, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community co-director: Glenn Patterson, City of New Brunswick

Livingston Avenue provides a gateway into downtown New Brunswick and the Rutgers community. Like many streets throughout the state, the roadway was over-designed (too many travel lanes) and has become unsafe for other modes—specifically bicyclists and pedestrians. To improve safety and reduce injuries and fatalities, this project will study the feasibility of a “road diet” (reduction in travel lanes) on Livingston Avenue and the creation of bikesharrows on George Street. Researchers will ultimately provide a report to the City of New Brunswick that contains a blueprint for the redesign of Livingston Avenue to become more pedestrian-, bicycle-, and transit-friendly.

2012 Grant Recipients

Significant benefits ensue when universities and communities collaborate on research projects resulting in both scholarly publication and community action. Recognizing Rutgers’ responsibility to be a strong partner in New Brunswick, a grant program was developed with awards ranging from $2,500–$25,000 to support community-based participatory research in the city.

Below are the grant recipients for the January–December 2012 grant period.

New Brunswick Cultural Development Strategy
Rutgers co-director: Norman Glickman, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community co-director: Norma Kaplan, New Brunswick Cultural Center

The New Brunswick Cultural Center (NBCC) is a private, non-profit organization that promotes and advocates for arts organizations. This grant will be used to develop a plan to integrate, incubate, and promote all of the city’s arts and cultural activities, including the less-marketed entities in New Brunswick. Researchers will conduct an inventory of arts and cultural organizations in the city, and build a shared vision and set of strategies for the city’s cultural development. Results will lead to sustainability for the arts and cultural organizations; increased awareness of diverse community-based arts and cultural activities; and the attraction and retention of more creative and innovative people to contribute to the city’s cultural landscape.

 

Empowering Parents through SALSA: A Community-based Service Learning and Research Partnership
Rutgers co-director: Mary Curran, Graduate School of Education
Community co-director: Barry Smith, Youth Empowerment Services

SALSA (Students Advancing Literary Skills in Adults) is a service learning and research initiative offered through the Rutgers Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnership Program, which will provide Rutgers students as trained English language conversation partners to ESL immigrant youth and their parents in New Brunswick. In partnership with Youth Empowerment Services (Y.E.S.), the project will help community members join English-speaking communities and improve their English proficiency and knowledge about U.S. culture. The results will include an evaluation of the impact of the conversations with both Rutgers students and the community participants. In addition, the production of a parent guide is planned.

 

Congestion and Safety near the New Brunswick Train Station
Rutgers co-director: Eric J. Gonzales, School of Engineering
Community co-director: Glenn Patterson, City of New Brunswick

The objective of this project is to analyze traffic congestion and safety effects of pedestrians and drivers in the vicinity of the New Brunswick train station. The study will involve quantitative and qualitative analysis of the intersections near the station. The research results will identify low-cost, implementable solutions for the community and Middlesex County in managing users of multiple transportation modes, while simultaneously contributing knowledge and ideas to the transportation engineering field. This project will be led in partnership with the City of New Brunswick’s director of planning, community, and economic development. The study will involve the City of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, and Rutgers University.

 

Building a Food Hub in New Brunswick: Community Economic Development and Food Security
Rutgers co-director: Kathe Newman, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Community co-director: Lisanne Finston, Elijah’s Promise

The Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement will partner with Elijah’s Promise, a community-based organization that uses food to address poverty, to develop and implement an urban agricultural plan for the City of New Brunswick.  Leveraging existing resources and building on emerging university-community partnerships, the plan will promote food-related economic development and provide access to healthy and affordable food for residents. The proposal will research the potential for the development a “food hub” with a processing and production system that would provide jobs, small business development opportunities, training, and education, while improving food security for low-income residents in New Brunswick.

 

The Business of Doing Good: Community and Economic Development through Support of Small Business owners in New Brunswick
Rutgers co-director: Matt K. Matusda, School of Arts and Sciences
Community co-director: Joe Shure, The Intersect Fund

This proposal pairs academic course work with The Intersect Fund, a community-based non-profit organization that helps low-income entrepreneurs develop their small businesses. Students and local small business owners will work together to survey community needs and use the research to generate information on potential customers and markets in New Jersey. The academic team and The Intersect Fund will make the research available to small business owners and other community partners to help them make informed decisions about entrepreneurship as a viable career prospect. Findings will be submitted to publications related to social entrepreneurship.

 

Math and Science Story Time Series: Bringing Math and Science to Life through Reading and Art for Preschoolers in a Community-based Setting
Rutgers co-director: Alissa A. Lange, National Institute of Early Education Research
Community co-director: Darby DeCicco, New Brunswick Free Public Library

This collaboration between the New Brunswick Free Public Library (NBFPL) and Rutgers’ National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) will involve the design and implementation of a Math and Science Story Time Series for young children ages 3-6 years who speak English or Spanish. The program will use engaging, integrative, community-based learning approaches to increase access to math and science for educationally at-risk youngsters. The program will also increase community awareness of and participation in NBFPLprograms for young children, enhance the library’s existing resources for use beyond the scope of the project, and provide NIEERwith knowledge about effective transfer of resources and practices from school-based to community-based settings.

 

Building a Sustainable Bed Bug Management Program in New Brunswick Public Housing
Rutgers co-director: Changlu Wang, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Community co-director: John Clarke, New Brunswick Housing Authority

This program will assist the New Brunswick Housing and Redevelopment Authority (NBHA) in developing a sustainable bed bug management program, targeted to reduce bed bug infestations and associated health hazards. The NBHA is a non-profit organization that manages apartment complexes occupied by low income residents who have experienced a high rate of bed bug infestation. The proposed program will include an assessment of the infestations; educating the residents and NBHA staff about monitoring, prevention, and control methods; and designing and implementing a sustainable bed bug management program. The goal is for affected residents to see an 80% reduction in infestation within 6 months.

 

New Brunswick Family Solutions: A Conjoint Family Therapy Program
Rutgers co-director: Michael C. LaSala, School of Social Work
Community co-director: Ronald Rak, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System

This proposal will establish a family therapy program focusing on the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth from New Brunswick faith-based organizations. Developed in partnership with St. Peter’s Healthcare System, the project will offer consultation to clergy, and provide coordination and treatment planning with local HIV service providers. This research seeks to diminish the risk of dissolution of families of LGBT youth and the consequences of family disruption such as mental illness, substance abuse, and increased HIV risk. Local faith-based and secular service providers will be better informed about the needs of the LGBT community, which will assist with program planning.

 

Project BRANCH—Building Research into Action Needed for Community Health
Rutgers co-director: Karen T. D’Alonzo, College of Nursing
Community co-director: Mario Nuñez, Lazos America Unida

This project will use knowledge translation techniques to develop research-based, health promotion programs for the immigrant Latino community in New Brunswick by training local immigrants to become community health workers/promotores de salud. In tandem with Lazos America Unida (LAU), the initiative will provide primary prevention techniques for acculturation stress and depression among immigrant Latino men. By allowing community health workers to be the bridge between the community and the mental health care system, immigrants may be more likely to receive culturally appropriate health education, obtain mental health services, and take advantage of informal counseling, social support, and advocacy services.