How living with AIDS affects housing needs, domestic abuse and other social issues is the focus of research to be conducted this year by five Sonoma State students selected as this year's Community Scholars.
The Community Scholars program is modeled on the Public Scholars program at Stanford University.
The Community Scholars and their research projects for 2005-2006 are:
Chelsea Bahr, Anthropology, is investigating the housing needs of Latinos living with HIV/AIDS in Sonoma County. She is partnering with the Center for HIV Prevention and Care in Santa Rosa and the Latino Task Force to conduct and disseminate her research.
Bene Rather-Taylor, Anthropology, is researching the prevalence and causes of HIV/AIDS among women who suffer domestic abuse, including the related problems of homelessness, financial dependency, and a lack of coordinated women's services that address these issues.
Karen Shimizu, Business, is researching the matrix of governmental agencies, local nonprofit organizations, and private business groups in Sonoma County that address the lack of local affordable housing to evaluate the efficacy of existing programs and collaborations.
Donald Williams, Anthropology, is expanding his study on housing needs for people living with both HIV/AIDS and mental illness in Sonoma County to include other social, cultural, and medical needs for this community. During the first phase of his research, he worked with a number of Sonoma County agencies, including Face to Face, Food for Thought, Section 8 Vouchers, Community Resources for Independence, and Project HOPE.
Wesley Wills, Anthropology, is studying issues related to housing for people living with HIV/AIDS and physical disabilities (whether related to their infection with HIV or a predating infection) in Sonoma County.
The Community Scholars program is a senior thesis capstone program focused on community-based, socially responsible research. Up to ten students are competitively selected to participate in the Community Scholars Program each year.
Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, each student conducts an original research project designed in consultation with the community, researching an issue of local relevance.
The scholarship is offered to students through the SSU Office of Community-Based Learning.
For more information, visit http://www.sonoma.edu/aa/ap/ocbl civil_scholarship.shtml or contact Amra Stafford at (707) 664-3202 or at stafford@sonoma.edu.
