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The Community Practice Lab supports the enactment of a wide variety of programs and initiatives. We administer programs and coalitions that have been developed and managed by the CPL. We also coordinate our community partners’ initiatives, providing capacity to ensure the sustainability of these programs. Schedule a meeting with Dr. Ryan Lavalley to discuss program administration and coordination opportunities with the CPL.

 

Program Administration

The CPL administers a range of programs and coalitions in partnership with community organizations. These initiatives are developed in collaboration with our community partners and are fully administered by the CPL team.

CPL program administration adds both capacity and expertise to our organizational partners. Our program administration is informed by the strengths, needs, and goals of the communities we serve. Often, program administration emerges as a natural next step following idea incubation and strategizing.

Orange County Home Preservation Coalition

Orange County Home Preservation Coalition: Preserving Homes in Partnership (Logo)The Community Practice Lab supports the coordination and administration of the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition (OCHPC). The OCHPC increases communication and collaboration among organizations to decrease burden on clients and service seekers, particularly older adults, people of color, low-income residents, and people with disabilities.

The CPL team facilitates monthly OCHPC meetings, advancing communication and collaboration among organizations to decrease burden on clients and service seekers, particularly older adults, people of color, low-income residents, and people with disabilities. The CPL also maintains the OCHPC’s online database, which facilitates communication and case referrals among organizational partners.

The CPL also produces policy recommendations for both the OCHPC and municipalities based on academic research and OCHPC data.

The OCHPC is featured in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s action guide, “Partnering to Expand Access to Home Modifications, Repairs, and Weatherization for Community Living.” This national resource features the OCHPC as a model of home accessibility collaboration.


 

Carolina Aging Network

Carolina Aging Network Logo

The Carolina Aging Network (CAN) emerged from grassroots, cross-campus interest in creating tools and strategies that will advance aging-related community partnerships, education and training, and research. CPL Primary Lead Dr. Ryan Lavalley has coordinated CAN since its inception in 2023, in partnership with Linda Kendall-Fields and Alison Climo of Cares and Denisé Dews of the Center for Aging and Health.

Ryan created and maintains CAN’s directory of aging-related initiatives, researchers, and organizations in Carolina. CAN also advocates for resources to support aging-related research, education, and community partnership work.


 

Program Coordination

The CPL coordinates a wide range of programs and initiatives in close collaboration with our community partners. CPL team members often facilitate meetings and events, recruit participants, develop resources, evaluate outcomes. The CPL also ensures meaningful and reciprocal collaboration among organizations and community members. 

By partnering with the CPL to implement community-engaged programs, community partners gain capacity while also ensuring the programs’ sustainability. CPL coordination is often informed by strategic planning and program evaluation.

LINKing Generations in Northside Coordination

The 2022-2023 Linking Generations in Northside (LINK) cohort of UNC students and community mentors got to know each other through a speed dating-style meet-and-greet event at MCJC.

Linking Generations in Northside (LINK) is a collaboration with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center to connect UNC-Chapel Hill students with older residents in the Northside community. LINK offers students and elders opportunities to build reciprocal and abundance-based relationships. Through this program, students learn about and engage with local historically Black communities, while elders gain the opportunity to connect with and mentor young people. The CPL also partners with academic courses, such as medical anthropology, to provide students with field experience credit in the LINK program.

CPL Community Program Fellow Ty Chapman coordinates LINK, recruiting students and elders, organizing meetings and events, and facilitating intergenerational dialogue.


 

Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition

Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition LogoThe Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (OCAHC) is an association of non-profit housing developers, service providers, advocacy groups, and local government partners working together to provide housing opportunities for all in Orange County, North Carolina. CPL Intern Kristina Smith coordinates the OCAHC, gathering Affordable Housing advocates across Orange County regularly to coordinate advocacy and communication. In the scope of her work, Kristina facilitates meetings, manages communication among coalition members and partners, coordinates events, advocates for policies, and educates community members about affordable housing policies.


 

Orange County Master Aging Plan

Orange County Master Aging Plan 2022-2027The Orange County Master Aging Plan is a five-year plan that provides comprehensive and coordinated delivery of community services and supports that foster lifelong community engagement and well-being to older adults in Orange County. CPL Primary Lead Dr. Ryan Lavalley co-coordinates the Master Aging Plan Housing Work Group for the Orange County Department on Aging. In collaboration with Orange County’s Kendall McMillan, Ryan facilitates the advancement of housing-related initiatives and indicators identified in the Master Aging Plan. This group of housing related partners, local governments, and older adult community members gathers quarterly to discuss senior housing related advocacy, problem-solve challenges, and take action to preserve and increase affordable senior housing in alignment with Orange County’s Master Aging Plan charge.


 

HOPE NC Collective Impact Model

Hope NC Ideal Communities Initiative: Inclusive Diverse Engaging Affordable and LifelongThe CPL partners with HOPE NC to support its collective impact model and IDEAL Communities initiative. IDEAL Communities aims to create communities where people with disabilities and older adults can thrive. HOPE NC launched the IDEAL Communities initiative in 2022 to bring together a diverse group of partners and self-advocates to advocate for more inclusive, safe, affordable housing opportunities in the Triangle. CPL Community Program Specialist Kevin Giff coordinates HOPE NC’s action team and workgroups, bringing housing, health services, disability, and aging advocates together to identify concrete steps and strategies to address the need for inclusive, accessible housing.

With the CPL’s strategic coordination, HOPE NC is making huge progress towards achieving these goals, including supporting the integration of 10 inclusive apartments in Grosvenor Gardens, a historic apartment community in downtown Raleigh. As the CPL prepares to support HOPE NC in the third year of IDEAL Communities, we’re excited to further test the model, expand the initiative’s reach, and support advocacy for more inclusive housing opportunities.


 

FFORC Partnership

Food, Fitness, and Opportunity Research Collaborative (FFORC) LogoThe UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention’s Food, Fitness and Opportunity Research Collaborative (FFORC) aims to build economic security, improve health outcomes and contribute to community-based research literature to address those affected by inequity in North Carolina. The CPL and FFORC partner to support community-led initiatives around active living, including developing and sharing active living plans, curricula, programs, workshops, and more.


 

MCJC Eldercare

Marian Cheek Jackson CenterCPL Primary Lead Dr. Ryan Lavalley supports a coordinated effort among multiple community partners, including the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, Self-Help, and other aging-related organizations to vision and plan for eldercare supports across the continuum of care. This includes imagining what respite programs and longer-term care facilities could look like situated in Northside and adhering to the values and principles of the community. The collaboration is currently working with two properties to explore what options they may offer when it comes to building and sustaining more eldercare opportunities in Northside.

In spring 2023, Ryan supervised two groups of MSOT students as they supported MCJC’s efforts to create a center that supports Northside elders to safely and affordably age in their community. One group created a design proposal focused on universal design, meaningful engagement, and safety for elder neighbors participating in a potential group respite program at the home in the future. The other group produced a strategic plan for developing the programming, staffing, and policies for an elder group respite program. MCJC will use these resources to move forward this innovative model for eldercare rooted in Northside’s vision, history, and longstanding networks of mutual care.


 

Habitat Neighborhood Engagement Implementation

The CPL team has supported Habitat for Humanity of Orange County in developing and implementing sustainable processes for community engagement. The CPL first developed the “Engage”: Neighborhood Engagement Strategic Plan, which assessed Habitat’s current resources and impact and identified specific areas for Habitat to better support Orange County communities’ quality of life and meaningful engagement. 

The CPL then worked alongside Habitat’s newly created Neighborhood Engagement Team (NET) to develop and enact strategies for four Orange County neighborhoods. For example, the CPL developed a community engagement toolkit, including processes for receiving and fulfilling community requests and processes for establishing new communities. In spring 2024, the CPL also guided MSOT students in creating an action plan for supporting language access in the Weaver’s Grove development.

The CPL community engagement team also facilitated organization-wide planning around community empowerment at Habitat’s fall 2023 annual summit. The day-long workshop guided Habitat staff in planning strategic actions to support local communities in building a sense of community, coordinating social cohesion, and engaging in collective action, all rooted in resident leadership.


 

OCDOA Handy Helpers Program

Handy Helpers LogoFrom 2017-2020, the CPL supported the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Orange County Department on Aging’s Handy Helpers Program program. Handy Helpers is a volunteer-based minor home repair program to help Orange County residents, particularly older adults, maintain their homes and quality of life. We were honored to guide Handy Helpers in responding to community needs during the program’s incubation and early years.

Morgan Cooper volunteers with Orange County Department on Aging's Handy Helpers programDr. Ryan Lavalley supervised Morgan Cooper, master of public health and master of city and regional planning student, who coordinated Handy Helpers. In 2020, Morgan conducted the first-ever evaluation of the Handy Helpers program to understand the program’s effectiveness in public health and community impact. Using mapping tools and census data comparisons, the evaluation confirmed Handy Helpers was reaching the populations it was designed for.

Morgan's Work With Handy Helpers
    Schedule a meeting with Dr. Ryan Lavalley to discuss opportunities for the CPL to help implement programs, research, and initiatives.