Gentrification occurs when primarily non-white cities and/or neighborhood are renovated, overtime, to entice potential white and/or affluent residents, simultaneously uprooting long-term residents. Gentrification occurring in the Central District (CD) of Seattle, WA has been a devastating force for Black residents. In 1970, Blacks made up over 73 percent of the CD. Today, Blacks have been displaced to primarily south regions of King County; whereby, the CD’s Black population is below 20 percent. Gentrification echoes the legacy of displacement of Black people in the United States. Black people have always been tasked with mourning home. Blacks were forced into slavery, from Africa to North America. Freed in the mid-1860s, where the southern regions resembled genocidal environments for Black residents, Black Americans have always searched for home. This search for home later influenced the Great Migration, where Blacks moved to the north and Mideastern regions of America for greater economic opportunity; however, they were then met with racially restrictive housing covenants such as red-lining. Today, Blacks are removed from their communities due to gentrification. Based on guided conversations, participation, interviews, and a collection of photographic imagery, Operation Heal the CD examines: how Black Seattleites' response to gentrification correlates with the historical and cultural context of home; how the grievance of home is displayed by Black Seattleites― who cultivated a home within the CD, coherent with their culture and history― influences their relationship to home overtime; what Black Seattleites, intergenerational, understand to be potential causes, influences, and consequences of gentrification? Preliminary results indicate that although the CD has undergone gentrification, Black Seattleites associate the neighborhood in relations to a cultural mecca. Understanding gentrification on a local context aids a greater understanding of historical implications. This study contributes to broader observations occurring contemporaneously on a national scale.

This paper is intended as a critique and development of morality in literature, seeking to prove that literature can have deep effects on a reader’s moral character. The stakes for such research are rather high: especially during the pandemic, our culture is heavily informed by social and mass media, and it is hard to imagine a good future for the world if these mediums cannot shake the status quo. Though this paper takes a narrower scope of investigation than moral progress itself, the reader should keep in mind that all of our practices of communication can and should be informed by literary tradition, among other practices. For art is our name for the most refined and deliberate artifacts of human expression, capable of great scale, subtlety, and mass dissemination. Morality in communication is explored here through literature, but I hope the reader will make an attempt to apply any knowledge gleaned to as diverse a range of their practices as is possible. The basic issue of my research is that conventional calls to action, for example Sarah McLachlan’s famous (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) SPCA commercials, are not terribly effective. This is obvious insofar as there is a saturation of these calls to action, and a shocking lack of action or concern from many, but I will also seek to justify this in the theories of Immanuel Levinas, then develop a solution from a more philosophical framing of the problem, with Louis Althusser’s writings on ideology, as well as case studies from literature. Eventually, this all leads to the question: how do we address ideology in art? Which will hopefully be somewhat answered by the development of the question, and further addressed by the case studies comprising the latter half of this writing.

Mental health issues are prevalent across cultures and people. Immigrants with developmental disabilities (ID) face a double minority challenge due to the formidable differences among diverse groups in perceptions of mental health and difficulty in accessing services. Yet, health disparities and barriers faced by people with disabilities from a culturally diverse background have not been prioritized in educational curriculum, in scholarly research, and in general societal discourse. Recent reports suggest that systematic neglect of culture in health and healthcare has contributed to barriers to the advancement of health worldwide. This study strives to illuminate the development of mental health services for immigrants with co-occurring developmental (ID) and mental health challenges (MHC). It includes data from surveys and interviews with health care practitioners serving people with ID. Data analysis focuses on practitioners' challenges and successes working with this population. The findings help identify strategies and resources to support the immigrant communities who are experiencing the intersecting effects of marginalizing characteristics in their daily lives, especially through an intersectionality framework.

Hong Kong youths who were greatly engaged in the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement are more likely to get arrested and charged with criminal activities. Current studies found that there was a positive correlation between adverse mental health during the 2019-2020 social unrest in Hong Kong . Less than half of youths intended to seek professional mental health care because of privacy concerns; many had a mistrust of the authorities in accessing medical records for potential law enforcement purposes. Due to this issue, there is a major concern about how mental health practitioners build and maintain trustworthy relationships with youth protesters. Reform of mental health services under continuing protests and social unrest is needed. Current researchers focus on the relationship between the movement and adverse mental health, but any potential interventions or solutions have gone unaddressed. I choose to focus on the mental health of youth between 16 and 25 who are engaged in the pro-democracy movement for my research to explore effective mental health programs for youths who were influenced by the movement. My research question looked to answer, What are some actual organizational-based or school-based mental health program interventions for youths affected by the pro-democracy movement? For this study, I interviewed 4 mental health practitioners in Hong Kong. They highlighted the “Time to Heal” funding program, public platforms for youths to speak up, and psychoeducation workshops in school as beneficial to youth mental health. Additionally, all expressed concern about trust issues with youth clients as an extra impediment to seeking care. The implications for the research is to guide the implementation of effective practices, which can improve youth access, safety and quality of care in mental health services.

In Washington State, the Latinx (gender-inclusive for Latinos, Hispanos, etc.) communities have long experienced health disparity that is now accentuated by current global crises, for example, health inequities related to racism and the global pandemic. Disparity is perpetuated when society creates barriers to knowledge about fundamental rights entitled to all individuals, as outlined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some studies have been conducted on Latinx health and social disparity, but few employed participatory action research to examine how rights can be advanced in our community. There is a need to spread scientific, historical, and local knowledge to recognize violations of rights. Through emancipatory research and storytelling, our goal is to inform the community about human, civic, and constitutional rights, foster critical consciousness, and empower Latinx to defend their rights. Our participatory action research project focuses and reflects on six fundamental rights: protection, nutrition, community, housing, education, and health. First, we will conduct conversation-based interviews with community members to acquire personal narratives that explore conceptualizations and narratives regarding these rights. Interview transcripts will be critically analyzed in a team setting, and action steps will be taken. Second, we reflect on and conduct literature research to acquire evidence of current social practices and oppressions. Team members, which include faculty members, a representative from community-based group Mujeres Latinas Apoyando la Comunidad (Latinas Helping the Community), and myself, are involved with interviewing, data analysis, scriptwriting, translation, or serve as guest speakers. Our product will be a series of 30-minute, Spanish/English radio episodes, each featuring a narrative and our findings regarding a relevant right and appropriate action. Our vision is to alleviate conflicts between laws and universal rights and achieve a social change in which the rights of the most disadvantaged people are rediscovered and restored.

The Southeast Asian American population disproportionately experiences mental health disorders due to histories of war and violence leaving home and coming to the U.S., however, their mental health needs are understudied. This study explores how parental involvement among Southeast Asian parents is associated with adolescents’ self-esteem. We also examine how gender might play a role in parental involvement and self-esteem. We analyzed data from the 1995 wave of surveys from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study. We focused our analyses on adolescents who identified as Vietnamese, Laos, Hmong and Cambodian and whose parents completed the parent survey (n = 382 pairs of parents and adolescents). We first calculated descriptive statistics for sociodemographic characteristics (age, education level, income), parental involvement measures (frequency of communication about school & clashing) and self-esteem (Rosenberg scale). We then used chi-square tests or t-tests to determine whether characteristics, including self-esteem, differed significantly by adolescent gender. We also assessed the relationships between parental involvement measures and adolescent self-esteem. Results demonstrated that clashing between parents and adolescents were significantly associated with adolescent self-esteem (p<.05) While results indicated that there were no significant gender differences in self-esteem scores, self-esteem scores were low overall in the sample. Our results point to the importance of expanding holistic and culturally relevant mental health services for Southeast Asian adolescents, regardless of gender, especially considering the importance of family involvement in service delivery. Additionally, results call for practitioners to deliver culturally sensitive services and to gain a stronger understanding of cultural and gender norms when working with Southeast Asian populations. Future research should seek to better understand the mental health of Southeast Asian adolescents.

This study asks how participants in Veterans Treatment Court perceive services received from them and what impact the courts have on participants’ feelings about themselves. It uses data drawn from three in-depth qualitative interviews of veterans who have completed veterans courts treatment and services. Participants described their criminal charges, which include assault, malicious mischief, driving under the influence, and theft. All of the participants described their current state as being in some form of recovery from either addiction or another form of mental health challenge. The interviews were conducted with a unique social work frame focusing on the micro, meso and macro implications of participation in the courts. Findings based on qualitative analyses revealed that participants felt supported during the course of their participation and empowered to make changes in their lives. Most importantly, participants felt humanized by their experience which stands in marked contrast to their experiences in other criminal proceedings. The study points to the unique value of veterans courts and the role they can play in supporting participants’ recovery and wellbeing.