News

More than 30 faculty, staff, and students from across the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill gathered on November 30 for the first UNC Collaboration for Aging event. The dialogue explored avenues for collaboration to connect those engaged in aging-related research, education, and community engagement initiatives across campus. The...

Community Practice Lab (CPL) Primary Lead Dr. Ryan Lavalley and Housing Fellow Leiha Edmonds presented a national webinar for the Administration of Community Living (ACL). The webinar, titled “Expanding Home Accessibility Services: Strategies for Sustaining Cross-Sector Collaborations,” was presented for the ACL’s Housing and Services Resource Center. A branch of...

The Community Practice Lab (CPL) facilitated organization-wide planning around community engagement and empowerment at Habitat for Humanity of Orange County‘s 2023 annual summit. The day-long workshop, led by Dr. Ryan Lavalley and CPL’s Community Engagement Team, guided Habitat staff in considering and planning for strategic actions to support local communities...

Dr. Ryan Lavalley delivered the keynote address for the Turkish Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Conference on October 25, 2023. In the keynote presentation, Lavalley discussed how occupational therapy can contribute to community practice in a variety of contexts. Lavalley highlighted how theory and programs rooted in community occupational therapy have...

The Community Practice Lab (CPL) has published the 2023 Orange County Home Preservation Coalition (OCHPC) Program Evaluation. Integrating a racial equity lens, the report describes the OCHPC and its goals, details program evaluation findings, and outlines recommendations for OCHPC to enhance the delivery of home preservation services within Orange County....

Community Practice Lab (CPL) Primary Lead Dr. Ryan Lavalley and Lead Housing Fellow Leiha Edmonds worked with the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity in a day-long workshop to support their developing home repair collaborative. Participants mapped out partnership roles, explored questions of access and marginalization, and built infrastructure for a home...