NAP- Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket

Pawtucket

Community Profile of Woodlawn

Community Profile


Description of region and its population


Woodlawn is a neighborhood in the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The racially diverse city of Pawtucket ranks 4th in population size out of 39 Rhode Island cities. In comparison to the entire state of Rhode Island, Pawtucket households earn an average of $13,000.00 less per year, own 20% less homes, and have earned fewer high school and college degrees. Almost 30% of the families in Pawtucket live below the federal poverty line.
Much of the city’s population of color, low- income families and poverty are concentrated in Woodlawn; it has the third highest poverty rate in the city. Woodlawn, which is 1.26 square miles, is the most populous neighborhood in Pawtucket, the third most densely settled, with blocks of large, multi-family dwellings. In Woodlawn, 45.8% are white, 16.4% Black, 23.2% Hispanic and 25.6% another race. Over 75% of the housing units are renter occupied, and almost 40% live below the 1.5 poverty line. The mean family income is $31,623.88 compared to Pawtucket’s $42,043.93.

Community Assets

The strong collaborations and partnerships between community stakeholders is an asset of this neighborhood. There is the Woodlawn Community Center, owned by the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation, which serves many functions in this neighborhood. Besides youth programming, it houses offices and meeting places for several community organizations; such as Pawtucket Weed & Seed, Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation, and the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association. This location is also the site for the meetings of the Woodlawn Community Partnership Team. It serves as a central location where local residents and service providers can come together, whether it’s for a strategic planning meeting, or a neighborhood block party.
Having Woodlawn designated as a Federal Weed & Seed site is another asset for this community, and has helped forge many working partnerships between service providers in the Woodlawn area. The Pawtucket Substance Abuse Prevention Task also has a strong and active presence in this community and works closely with the above named agencies as well. The Pawtucket Police Department has a good arrest rate for domestic violence cases, and thanks in part to Weed & Seed funding is also involved in community programming initiatives such as: bullying prevention in middle schools, a summer basketball league, gang prevention, and citizens policing. Additionally, support from the city’s mayor’s office and planning department can be considered another asset of this neighborhood.

Understanding IPV in Our Community
The prevalence of IPV among universal populations in the region

Pawtucket is second only to the state capital city, Providence, in the number of domestic violence forms received by the Police Department. According to stats compiled by the state of Rhode Island DV/SA tracking unit, there were 846 DV forms received in 2005. Out of those, there were 550 arrests. Children saw or heard more than half of the incidents, and 240 victims were visibly injured.
According to data found at infoworks.ride.edu for the 2003-2004 school year, 70 out of the 170 suspensions at the high school in Woodlawn were violence-related. At the public middle school in Woodlawn, there were 101 violence related suspensions out of 182, and at the elementary school 17 out of 29.

The prevalence of IPV among selected populations in the region

Galego Court, a housing project that was considered one of New England’s highest crime and drug areas during the 80’s makes up a part of Woodlawn as well. The problems (gangs, violent crimes, drugs, absentee landlords, lead poisoning) that have historically plagued this area of Pawtucket continue to exist today, although their have been some successful revitalization attempts in recent years.
A CPT member who worked at Galego Court, along with a representative from the housing authority police, expressed her concerns about the ongoing problems with IPV within Galego Court. During May of 2005, our CPT decided to hold focus groups with adolescents who live in Galego Court. Two focus groups were held, one with females and one with males. While participants weren’t clear on how to define domestic violence, they were clear about the violence and abuse they have all witnessed within their community. Although interest was expressed in learning more, and suggestions given about what they thought could be helpful for their community, there was a general attitude that violence was just a way of life that would be difficult to change.



Risk and protective factors associated with IPV among selected populations

Research indicates that a history of witnessing violence and poverty are two risk

factors associated with IPV. Additionally, “youths aged 16-24 are the most at risk of

domestic violence of any age group, particularly those disconnected from social supports.

A significant proportion of these youths are parents. One study reports that 26% of new

mothers between 13 and 17 years old experienced intimate partner violence in the three

months after the birth of their child” (as cited in “Promoting Prevention, Targeting Teens: An Emerging Agenda to Reduce Domestic Violence” produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund; AGI, “Pregnancy and Risk Assessment Monitoring System State Specific Survey of New Mothers,” Family Planning Perspectives, 31(2): 106+,1999, as quoted in Interpersonal Violence and Adolescent Pregnancy: Prevalence and Implications for Practice and Policy, Center for Assessment and Policy Development and National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention, Inc., Washington, DC: October 2001 as cited in internal memo, Center for Law and Social Policy, undated).
Literature on protective factors indicates that getting youth involved in goal-oriented community service, leadership roles, and structured activities, as well as developing bonds with a positive adult role model, may be ways to build youth assets and increase their odds of being resilient to negative influences in their lives.


Prioritized Needs for Universal and Selected Populations


The information and demography reported about Woodlawn paints a picture of a community in need. Research indicates that there are correlations between IPV and poverty; in states that have looked at domestic violence and welfare receipt, most report that approximately 50-60% of current recipients say that they have experienced violence from a former or current male partner (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 1997). The Family Violence Prevention Fund Report cites research from the DOJ, which states that in 1992-93 women with annual incomes of below $10,000.00 compared with women of incomes higher than $10,000.00 were more likely to report experiencing domestic violence. More attention to low-income communities is needed “Low-income women experience violence at significantly higher rates than women of higher incomes” (as cited; Zewig, Janine M.& Burt, Martha R., “Domestic Violence: Where are we and where should we be going?” Urban Institute, Washington, DC (draft paper prepared for the Family Violence Prevention Fund, April 9, 2002), p.45.
Our CPT decided to prioritize Galego Court as our selected population. Aspects of successful violence prevention programs that address social contexts may also be conducive for implementation of intimate violent prevention programs.
“Observations from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods lend credence to the concept that addressing change within the community is a critical factor in changing individual behavior. Other research shows that ‘collective efficacy,’ defined as mutual trust and a willingness to intervene for the common good, is the critical feature distinguishing low-crime neighborhoods from comparable neighborhoods with high crime. Efforts to build on community assets such as collective efficacy hold promise as violence prevention strategies.” (as cited in “Promoting Prevention, Targeting Teens: An Emerging Agenda to Reduce Domestic Violence” produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund ch.IV,p.14; Personal communications with Felton Earls, Harvard University School of Public Health, Feb. 2, 2002; Robert J Sampson, Chapin Hall consultation, January 23, 2002. Robert J Sampson, Stephen W. Raudenbush, and Felton Earles. “Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy.” Science. Vol.277, Aug.15 1997. For more information about the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, see http;//phdcn.harvard.edu.
Using information gathered from research, we felt enhancing the protective factors of the adolescent population at Galego Court would be a good place to focus our prevention efforts. We established that the needs for this population include: 1) lack of understanding regarding the dynamics of IPV; 2) A sense of apathy/hopelessness about living in a nonviolent community and being agents of positive change; 3) a feeling of disconnect from social support; 4) A lack of pride in their community; 5) breaking the history of witnessing abuse that can lead to ongoing intergenerational cycles of abuse.













Sources

“A City of Neighborhoods; Pawtucket, Rhode Island Neighborhood Analysis and 2000 update”; Prepared by Tracy Hadden & Ethan Horowitz , 12/06/02.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DELTA: Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Through Public Health Approaches. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Search Institute. “Asset Building Ideas for Organizations” from Healthy Communities -Healthy Youth Tool Kit, www.search-institute.org


United Learning. “Risk and Protective Factors” & “Asset Building Ideas for Individuals”; www.unitedlearning.com

U.S. Census Bureau, 2000