Food Assistance Deserts in Central Florida: Identifying Service Gaps Using Spatial Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 193672442098440
Author(s):  
Emily Curran ◽  
Amy Armenia
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Spatial Inequality ◽  
Food Assistance ◽  
Social Service Agencies ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Central Florida ◽  
Collaborative Community ◽  
Service Agencies

Food assistance works to relieve food insecurity, a persistent problem in the United States disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. In this study, we take a closer look at geographical service gaps in food assistance using Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis to measure food assistance deserts, a term for areas where the nearest food assistance location is more than a mile away from the population centroid of a block group. By combining geographic data with data from the American Community Survey, we identified characteristics and predictors of food assistance deserts. Our results indicate that locations of food assistance in Central Florida are generally responsive to the needs of the community but are lacking in more affluent areas. This research was made possible through a partnership between our institution and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The affordability and accessibility of this project should serve as a model for assessing spatial inequality in social service agencies through collaborative community-based research.

scholarly journals Barriers to Sustainability in Poor Marginalized Communities in the United States: The Criminal Justice, the Prison-Industrial Complex and Foster Care Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muriel Adams ◽  
Sonja Klinsky ◽  
Nalini Chhetri
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Prison Industrial Complex ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Care Systems

In the United States of America, 2.2 million people are incarcerated in public and private facilities and over 700,000 are released yearly back to their home communities. Almost half are rearrested within a year. These problems have been excluded from mainstream sustainability narratives, despite their serious implications for sustainability. This paper addresses how the criminal justice, prison-industrial complex and foster care systems negatively impact these communities and families. To comprehend the system links, a sustainability lens is used to examine and address interlinking system impacts obstructing achievement of sustainability and the necessary community characteristics for building sustainable communities. Communities characterized by environmental degradation, economic despair and social dysfunction are trapped in unsustainability. Therefore, a system-of-communities framework is proposed which examines the circumstances that bring about prison cycling which devastates family and community cohesion and social networking, also negatively affecting the ability of other communities to become truly sustainable. We contend that a fully integrated social, economic and environmental approach to a major, complex, persistent problem as it relates to poor, marginalized communities faced with mass incarceration and recidivism can begin creating sustainable conditions. Further, we articulate ways sustainability narratives could be changed to engage with core challenges impeding these communities.

scholarly journals CREATING DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA IN THE UNITED STATES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S444-S444
Author(s):  
Tracy Wharton ◽  
Daniel Paulson ◽  
Courtney Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Social Service Agencies ◽  
Central Florida ◽  
Emergency Personnel ◽  
Training And Support

Abstract The Dementia Care & Cure Initiative in Florida is a statewide movement to advance dementia friendly communities. With 25% of the state over the age of 65, Florida has one of the highest rates of dementia in the nation. The taskforce based in Orlando involves a partnership of representatives from social service agencies, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and research partners, as well as consumers. The task force commissioned a series of five focus groups with 43 consumers. These focus groups produced short and long-term recommendations, identifying such issues as needed training for emergency personnel and law enforcement, improving inter-provider communication, and providing culturally competent programming for a diverse region. The taskforce has been planning with the Mayor’s office and law enforcement to initiate training and support for community engagement, and planning for implementation of these goals. Recommendations from the groups and from the taskforce to community leaders will be discussed.

Prioritizing psychosocial services for children, youth and families postdisaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-607
Author(s):  
Amy Elizabeth Fulton ◽  
Julie Drolet ◽  
Nasreen Lalani ◽  
Erin Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Service ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Social Service Agencies ◽  
Community Recovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Psychosocial Services ◽  
Service Agencies

PurposeThis article explores the community recovery and resilience element of “building back better” (BBB) through the perspectives and experiences of community influencers who provided psychosocial supports after the 2013 floods in southern Alberta, Canada.Design/methodology/approachThe Alberta Resilient Communities (ARC) project adopted a community-based research methodology to examine the lived realities of children, youth, families and their communities postflood. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 37 community influencer participants representing a range of organizations including not-for-profit agencies, community organizations, social service agencies and government departments.FindingsThe findings were drawn from the interviews held with community influencers in flood-affected communities. Major themes include disaster response challenges, insufficient funding for long-term disaster recovery, community partnerships and collaborations and building and strengthening social capital.Practical implicationsFindings demonstrate the need to build better psychosocial services, supports and resources in the long term to support community recovery and resilience postdisaster for children, youth and families to “build back better” on a psychosocial level.Social implicationsLocal social service agencies play a key role in the capacity of children, youth and families to “build back better” postdisaster. These organizations need to be resourced and prepared to respond to psychosocial needs in the long term in order to successfully contribute to postdisaster recovery.Originality/valueThe findings illustrate that adopting a psychosocial framework for disaster recovery can better inform social service disaster response and long-term recovery plans consistent with the BBB framework. Implications for social service agencies and policymakers interested in fostering postdisaster community recovery and resilience, particularly with children and youth, are presented.

scholarly journals Planning for the First and Last Mile: A Review of Practices at Selected Transit Agencies in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2222
Author(s):  
Hossain Mohiuddin
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Plan Implementation ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Transit Agencies

A transit trip involves travel to and from transit stops or stations. The quality of what are commonly known as first and last mile connections (regardless of their length) can have an important impact on transit ridership. Transit agencies throughout the world are developing innovative approaches to improving first and last mile connections, for example, by partnering with ride-hailing and other emerging mobility services. A small but growing number of transit agencies in the U.S. have adopted first and last mile (FLM) plans with the goal of increasing ridership. As this is a relatively new practice by transit agencies, a review of these plans can inform other transit agencies and assist them in preparing their own. Four FLM plans were selected from diverse geographic contexts for review: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), Riverside (CA) Transit Agency (RTA), and Denver Regional Transit District (RTD), and City of Richmond, CA. Based on the literature, we developed a framework with an emphasis on transportation equity to examine these plans. We identified five common approaches to addressing the FLM issue: spatial gap analysis with a focus on socio-demographics and locational characteristics, incorporation of emerging mobility services, innovative funding approaches for plan implementation, equity and transportation remedies for marginalized communities, and development of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructures surrounding transit stations. Strategies in three of the plans are aligned with regional goals for emissions reductions. LA Metro and Riverside Transit incorporate detailed design guidelines for the improvement of transit stations. As these plans are still relatively new, it will take time to evaluate their impact on ridership and their communities’ overall transit experience.

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