From needs to action : community organizing at Heritage Common, Lawrence, Massachusetts

Abstract

This is a study of the effect researchers and their methods have on the process of community organizing. It specifically focuses on Heritage Common, a subsidized housing development in Lawrence, Massachusetts with a population comprised of 81% Latino residents. A survey on the social service needs of the residents was conducted for the owner and management company, The Community Builders (TCB). During the survey process, the residents of Heritage Common voiced their desire to organize a Tenants' Committee that would be formally recognized by the management and have a say in the future of their community. The project started as a social services needs assessment and became a community organizing case study with an interest in the role of the researcher and the research methods as catalysts in the process. The results of the survey were used to inform the residents about which groups within the community as well as which social services could be identified as targets for organizing efforts. This project was begun in October 1999, and as of May 2000, Heritage Common has established a formal Tenants' Committee. The first meeting between management, the Tenants' Committee and the residents to address community concerns will be held on May 18, 2000.