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2019-2020 Awardees

Amy L. Dexter
Psychology/CHABSS
Community Partner: Vista Unified School District
Youth Resiliency Project: Building Coping Skills for Young Caregivers and Bereaved Youth

The Youth Resiliency Project (YRP) provides support for young caregivers through work in local high schools. This phase incorporates a multi-school training and a retreat for caregiving youth into the program.  Training local high school peer counselors casts a wide net to support to youth caregivers who may not be identified. Referred students participating in a 1-day retreat will learn resiliency skills, obtain practical information for addressing caregiver needs, and build community with fellow caregivers.

Richard Armenta
Kinesiology/CEHHS
Community Partner: Indian Health Center
American Indian Physical Activity and Wellness Program

This continuation project aims to build on the partnership developed in the 2018/19 academic year between CSUSM and Indian Health Council. The goal is to increase American Indians (AI) knowledge of the benefits of increased physical activity and healthy eating, and their engagement in such activities. Funds will be used to hold a community fun run/walk and smaller active events that provide culturally appropriate education on well-being and builds on the network of active community members attended events in 2018/19.

Konane Martinez
Anthropology/CHABSS
Community Partner: Vista Community Clinic
"The Chilling Effect:" Immigrant Access to Public Programs 

In collaboration with Vista Community Clinic (VCC) I will conduct a qualitative study of the “chilling effect” that current policy and anti-immigrant sentiment has upon immigrant access and utilization of public service programs including Medicaid, food stamps and welfare. The research will yield data that can be utilized by both the partner agency and for the body of academic work related to immigrant health. 

Kim D’Anna Hernandez
Psychology/CHABSS
Community Partner: Vista Community Clinic
Identification of culturally relevant barriers to positive patient- provider and medical staff interactions in a federally qualified health center

Positive interactions with healthcare staff is associated with healthy maternal-child outcomes. Mothers less satisfied with medical staff report more maternal depressive symptoms, more difficult infants and worse overall infant health. In-clinic assessments are needed to identify the barriers to and strategies for successful patient-provider communication. This proposal will continue a partnership between Vista Community Clinic and a CSUSM perinatal research team to evaluate patients’ needs and barriers to positive in-clinic experiences.

Kelsey Jones
Human Development/CEHHS
Community Partner: High Tech Middle School
A Truly Equitable “Equity Project”: Using Racial Literacy Professional Development and Inquiry to Improve School Relationships at High Tech High Network Schools
This project, under the Preparing Educators to Address Racial Literacy and Stress (PEARLS) research program, seeks to improve the racial literacy (Stevenson, 2014) of educators in the High Tech High Network. Focusing on racial stress coping as a matter of competency, not character, the project will combine professional development with collaborative practitioner inquiry to improve relationships within the HTH Network and disrupt racialized practices that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline (Jones, 2015).