Seed grant recipients share stories

Peg Bortner listens to women. She listens to women whose lives lack decent treatment from most people. She listens to ex-prisoners.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

Other presentations include:

• Patricia Arredondo, Psychology in Education Department, “Learning from First-Time Homeowner Families in Transition.”

• Carlos Balsas, School of Planning, “Homelessness in Phoenix : Implications for Downtown Revitalization.”

• Filiz Ozel, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, “Spatial Assessment of Community Assets in Sunnyslope Neighborhood.”