Social Justice

Alyssa Schaeffer, Jamie Porter, Rebecca Lyons, Shao Yang Zhang

Demographic Statistics of Buffalo

• Population peaked in 1950 with 580,000 and has declined ever since, with an estimated 2016 population of 256,000
• As of the 2010 census - 50.4% of Buffalo was White, 38.6% - Black/African-American, 10.5% - Latino, 3.2% - Asian
  • US breakdown: 73.6% - White, 12.6% Black/African-American, 16.3% Latino, 5.1% - Asian
  • Buffalo is more racially diverse than the US
• Since 2003, there has been an ever-growing influx of refugees and immigrants into the Buffalo community
• In terms of spatial dispersion of different communities within Buffalo, it is not very racially integrated

Revitalizing Neighborhoods and Directly Addressing the Roots of Poverty/ Economic Disparity in Buffalo

• Matt Urban Hope Center: 501(c)(3) not-for-profit with a mission to provide programs to enhance quality of life, preserve neighborhoods and encourage economic development.
  • Six different locations across Buffalo (Community centers, Refugee Apartments, Transitional Housing, Apartments for Young Adults, etc.)
  • As well as providing various resources and programs combatting poverty, addiction, and food insecurity, the Matt Urban Hope Center also provides a Crime Victim Assistance Program...

"We serviced 2561 victims of crime and their families. As a comprehensive victim assistance program, we assist all victims of crime, but a majority of our clients are victims of assaults, robbery and burglary. We also assist the majority of families of homicides because most of the city homicides, occur on Buffalo’s Eastside."

• Friends of Night People: A charitable organization that helps the homeless and destitute community of Buffalo by providing food, clothing, medical care, counseling and hope to those in need.
  • FoNP is open 365 days per year. Total Meals served in 2017: 137,055.
  • Services are provided to men, women, and children of all ages.
  • Total services provided: Dinner, Food Pantry, West side/ East side mobile food pantries, Medical Care, Podiatry, Clothing closets, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Housing Assistance, and Veteran Assistance

"Mission statement: Provide food and necessities to address the effects and impact of poverty."

Alyssa:

• Saw social injustice and solutions throughout the city
  • Both are evident in all communities
• Takeaway/Application: Asset Based Community Development
  • Education of history, culture, and community
    • Asset: looking at the strengths of a community
  • Use education to create solutions
    • Development: natural process of improvement and growth (with the help of catalysts of course!)

Rebecca:

• Witnessed active citizens in the Buffalo community creating organizations and institutions directly combatting social injustice in their city
  • Each community partner representative told us their story of how they got involved: they noticed a problem in their community, educated themselves on the root causes of that problem, worked harmoniously with people directly affected by the problem, and then created an organization/ community initiative.
• Our experience in Buffalo re-established the importance of communication and active listening in struggling communities because only then can you understand/ find a solution
  • This is applicable both during our day-to-day conversations with partners and various other citizens we had the opportunity to talk to
    • Discussion with the ASB students of Buffalo State University
    • Hearing the history of Buffalo on the City Tour
• Fundamentally, we learned the impact one day of service can have on communities and on people.
• Urban Development and Social Justice advancements happen when communities come together to acknowledge their problems, when people work together to actively address root causes, and when a community is continually adapting to meet the needs of all citizens.

Jamie:

• The outcome was a greater understanding of how service can lead to a greater impact on one's community, either the one you have lived in all your life or one that is new to you
  • Developed a greater appreciation for the type of service that can result from a dedicated group of individuals who wish to do good in the world
    • Realized how important it is to be welcoming, generous, and understanding when serving in a community
• We learned about the greater understanding of service by serving a community that was new to all of us - no one on our team had ever been to Buffalo before yet we all saw how much of an impact one can make on a community, even in a few short days
  • We learned about the greater appreciation for the work that a group of individuals can do by reflecting on all of the work that we did - it was a week full of service that included painting walls, lifting heavy objects, and creating backpacks - just to name a few
    • We learned about how important it was to serve with a welcoming spirit, generosity, and understanding because that is how those who met in Buffalo treated us
• We will apply the greater understanding one can do in a community in the future by continuing to serve both within the communities that are familiar to us, but also new ones
  • We will apply the greater appreciation for service in the future by continuing to seek out opportunities to serve
    • We will apply the realization of how important it is to serve with a welcoming attitude, generosity, and understanding by remembering those three things as we serve in the future

Shao:

• Active citizenship allowed our group to not only assist the many communities that were affected by the social injustices but also take the initiative back to our University to promote similar causes
  • University Tools Library enable the neighbor to collectively engage in civic projects without being concerned about the cost of the tools. This organization is not established in Iowa City but would help strengthen community bonding through battling social injustices.
• Being proactive in revitalizing the city will not only help the community of ones residence but also send a message to the rest of the city to take action
  • Friends of Night and Matt Urban Hope Center are primary examples to bring free services to assist the unprivileged individuals gain a firm standing in society
• A tour of the rather dynamic history of the city of Buffalo painted a vivid story to the current struggles and resurgences in the economics of this city
  • Promoting industries to resettle their plants and/or factories in this city will help the many impoverished individuals find a stable employment and in turn reduce the social problems such as free-reduced lunches, poverty ratio, and lack of modernization throughout the city center

“About MUC.” Lt Col Matt Urban Human Services Center of WNY, urbanctr.org/about/.

“District Level.” Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Department of Education, www.educateiowa.gov/document-type/district-level.

Friends of Night People, friendsofnightpeople.com/.

"Faculty Statement on Black Lives Matter." University of Buffalo School of Social Work, https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/about/diversity-and-social-justice/faculty-statement-black-lives-matter.html

“NY State - School Report Card Data [2015-16].” Data.nysed.gov, New York State Education Department, data.nysed.gov/reportcard.php?year=2016&state=yes.

Rey, Jay. “More than Half of Buffalo Children Live in Poverty, New Census Figures Show.” The Buffalo News, The Buffalo News, 1 Oct. 2016, buffalonews.com/2016/10/01/half-buffalo-children-live-poverty-new-census-figures-show/.

“The Teacher's Desk.” The Teachers Desk, www.theteachersdesk.org/.

"University Heights Tool Library." Our Mission, http://www.ourheights.org/uhtl/about.html/.