CAC Supports Josh Lang in a Study of the "Amani Neighborhood"
10/22/2008
Certificate student and scholarship winner Josh Lang awarded $1,800 for research project.
CAC has awarded Certificate Student and Scholarship winner Josh Lang $1,800 to study a program seeking to improve the quality of life for elders in the "Amani Neighborhood," near 25th St. and Locust St.
In October, the team met with residents of the Amani Neighborhood, their Alderman, a representative from the police department, the Director of the Milwaukee County Department on Aging and local stakeholders. Lang will contribute to the project by spearheading a systematic and scientific investigation of whether the established deficiencies in the neighborhood were addressed, using a pre-test/post-test design. The project will run from July 2008 through December 2009.
Lang's work builds on previous neighborhood improvement projects, such as those in the Layton Blvd., Sherman Park, and the Prospect/Farwell areas. Teaming up with Rob Frediani of TherapyPlus, Sue Kelley of Connecting Caring Communities (CCC), and Carrie Henning-Smith of the UW-Madison Population Health Institute, they will ask neighborhood residents to participate in focus groups to reveal what they perceive as areas of need in their neighborhood. This will be followed by attempts to address those needs with existing resources.
"My hope is to assess whether the intervention produces positive outcomes on older adults' sense of community, sense of safety and how well the residents' specific community concerns were addressed," Lang said. "As a doctoral student in Urban Studies with an emphasis on aging in the community, this project provided me the opportunity to work with a community organization that is actively promoting aging in community."
