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Poster Session 1, 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM: Campus Center Auditorium [A39]

Presenter: Brianna Kasandra Ciavardone

Faculty Sponsor: Ellen Correa

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Political Science and Government

ABSTRACT

Poverty is not simply a problem of individual behavior or a short-term economic hardship, but a product of systems put into place through policy decisions that shape access to housing, healthcare, education, and employment. A humanitarian response requires more than emergency relief; to begin to create equitable change requires working within the system to make resources visible and accessible. The Amherst Survival Center is a local organization in Amherst, MA that provides free meals, groceries, and other essential resources to people in Hampshire and Franklin counties who need support. I’m currently working with Amherst Survival Center to create a resource guide that helps connect community members experiencing instability in regard to housing, healthcare, benefits, legal aid, transportation, and crisis support in Hampshire County and Western MA. The goal of my project aims to reduce information barriers by compiling resources in the area, making it easier for members and volunteers to know where to refer someone when they need help beyond food assistance. It’s meant to be a practical, ongoing guide that helps support members of the community navigating systems that are often hard to access. In the words of social justice advocates and scholars, Akuno and Hall (2023), “this project helps community members to improve their standard of living and quality of life by identifying where, when and how to use their … resources to maximum effect (p.18).”