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Professor Stephanie Canizales Receives ASA 2020 Community Action Research Institute Grant Award

November 24, 2020

ASA is pleased to announce the 2020 Community Action Research Initiative (CARI) awards. One of three recipients, UCM Sociology professor Stephanie Canizales brings social science knowledge, methods, and expertise to address community-identified issues and concerns and has proposed pro-bono work partnering with a community organization. Here is a brief description of her funded proposal:

By the end of 2020, Central American communities in the U.S. confronted three crises: the rise in refugee migration, and especially of unaccompanied minors, the systematic attack on asylum-seekers by the Trump administration, and the deleterious effects of the CoVID-19 pandemic on minoritized individuals and families. The purpose of this research is to interrogate the effects the converging refugee and health crises on legal, educational, health, and social service providers’ lives. Professor Canizales has partnered with Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, a Los Angeles, California-based organization, to more clearly understand the impact of intersecting crises on the work dynamics, attitudes, and overall well-being among service providers working with asylum-seeking Central American children, families, and communities.

Canizales and Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project will collaborate to develop a personal- and community- care best practices report and resource guide for organizations and individuals working with asylum-seeking Central American children and their families in Los Angeles. This research is important for understanding how to better meet the needs of asylum-seeking children and their families who are at the center of converging global crises.