Seed grant recipients share stories

March 27, 2007

Peg Bortner listens to women. She listens to women whose lives lack decent treatment from most people. She listens to ex-prisoners.<separator></separator>The fact that these women are ex-prisoners gives Bortner all the more reason to listen, because safe, affordable housing is essential for these women to regain custody of their children and avoid re-incarceration.<separator></separator>“Housing is one of the big issues of whether or not people can stay in society and not return to prison,” says Bortner, director of the Center for Urban Inquiry.<separator></separator>Thanks to a seed grant awarded by the ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, Bortner was able to conduct a research proposal to take an in-depth look at the obstacles of obtaining housing for ex-prisoner women through interviews and surveys.<separator></separator>Bortner will be giving a presentation about her research, titled “Going Home: Women Ex-Prisoners and their Children.” She will be joined by three other seed grant recipients from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., March 30, in the College Avenue Marketplace, located at 777 S. College Ave., suite 205 . Refreshments will be provided.<separator></separator>Other presentations include:<separator></separator>• Patricia Arredondo, Psychology in Education Department, “Learning from First-Time Homeowner Families in Transition.”<separator></separator>• Carlos Balsas, School of Planning, “Homelessness in Phoenix : Implications for Downtown Revitalization.”<separator></separator>• Filiz Ozel, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, “Spatial Assessment of Community Assets in Sunnyslope Neighborhood.”