Affordable Housing
Students from the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice participated in a competition that challenged teams from Massachusetts universities to create affordable housing development proposals. The goal is to build interest in community development and encourage the next generation of affordable housing practitioners.
The competition connects graduate students with developers and experts in the fields of community development finance, architectural design, and community engagement to create affordable housing proposals. The students also received support from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation’s Director of Housing for Central and Western Massachusetts.
“A lot of people think an affordable housing structure will be a big, ugly eyesore. It doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone deserves to live somewhere beautiful and spacious.”
—Wynne Plagge ’22, M.A. ’23
Collaborative for Youth and Community Justice
The Collaborative for Youth and Community Justice (CYCJ) works with community partners to conduct action research on how best to meet community needs and assess the effectiveness of programs; provide professional education and training to youth and community outreach workers, emphasizing trauma-informed practices; facilitate dialogues to help amplify youth and community voices and increase collaborations among community groups; and engage in community capacity building through collaborative strategic planning. CYCJ participates in several action research projects, including the Worcester Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, Worcester ACTS, and the Youth Worker Training Institute.
The Youth Worker Training Institute emerged from a need for better education for people working with young people in Worcester. Members of the Collaborative for Youth and Community Justice led the evaluation of all youth-serving organizations and found a serious need for professionalizing youth workers. Clark University, the HOPE Coalition, and the CYCJ collaborate to conduct the annual Youth Worker Training Institute.
The Institute is a 15-week comprehensive and meaningful professional development opportunity for youth workers. Staff gain knowledge about positive youth development, build skills in program planning and implementation, learn more about the roles and responsibilities of youth workers, and develop a common understanding of youth development approaches and local resources. The Institute creates a path to earn a Certificate in Youth Work Practice at Clark University, and each session includes networking and resource-sharing.