This Week in MVP: Letter to the Editor

We are excited to see a Letter to the Editor in this week's The News & Observer by the Mobile Voice Project's Amanda Matson advocating for a transit plan that benefits all of Wake County's citizens! Voice your support for transit to your Wake County commissioner throughout the next week before they meet to discuss moving forward on a Wake County transit plan...

Amanda Matson: Transit helps all

Regarding the July 15 editorial “ Coble’s conversion”: I am pleased the Wake County commissioners are finally planning to discuss a transit plan for Wake County.

The need for transit is critical. Commissioners should remember those residents who depend on transit every day and recognize how more extensive and efficient transit could improve these residents’ lives.

Through ongoing research into the travel of women experiencing homelessness in Wake County, I confirmed what may seem like common sense: The fewer transportation resources a low-income woman has, the less access she has to the services and resources she needs (e.g., affordable food, child care, mental health services or employment). For a newly homeless woman without a car, this might be a simple task such as obtaining an ID. For a woman trying to escape homelessness by obtaining work, admitting in a job interview that she depends on the bus may keep her from getting that job.

As a community, we invest in roads without expecting a direct return on our investment because we need this infrastructure for our community to thrive. Investing in transit now is just as essential for our community – not just for those who own a car, but rather for all Wake County residents at any income or ability level.

AMANDA MATSON

RALEIGH

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/16/4010102/amanda-matson-transit-helps-all.html?sp=%2F99%2F108%2F165%2F#storylink=cpy

This Week in MVP: Undergraduate Research Award!

Congratulations to our MVP Team undergraduate research assistant, Teshanee Williams, for receiving the North Carolina State University College of Humanities and Social Sciences Undergraduate Research Grant! Thanks to Teshanee's hard work, she has been awarded $1,280 to continue working with the Mobile Voice Project this spring! Way to go!

Mobile Voice Project Awarded Go Triangle Golden Mode Award

Mobile Voice Project is proud to announce that we have been awarded the Community Champion award for the 2013 Golden Modes awards from the GoTriangle! The Golden Modes honors those extraordinary commuters that not only love their sustainable commute but also promote sustainable transportation options to their family, friends, colleagues and neighbors. 

Check out our video interview!  

 

This Week in MVP: Eco Conference!

Two of our Mobile Voice Project team members had a great time at the 2013 Southeastern Ecological Community Psychology Conference this weekend! Great time to give and take ideas with others doing community work. Thanks #se_eco_2013 !!

This Week in MVP: Project Leader Featured

Great news! Word just came in that our project leader, Amanda Matson, was selected for the first ever Society for Community Research and Action Featured Student Contest! That's more prize money that can go into funding the Mobile Voice Project - providing bus passes for our participants!

This Week in MVP: Team Updates!

A big welcome to our new research assistants for this summer and fall and a big welcome back to our returning assistant! You are already sharing so many innovative ideas on how to promote and strengthen the Mobile Voice Project!

This Week in MVP: New Partner!

The Mobile Voice Project team is excited to start sessions this week with clients at the Helen Wright Center of Urban Ministries of Wake County! A big thanks to staff and clients there for welcoming us last night. Looking forward to hearing more about the clients' experiences related to mobility at tomorrow night's session!

This Week in MVP: Transitioning

The spring semester is coming to a close, and with it, the MVP Team is transitioning.  We will be having a couple of our research assistants move on and a new research assistant starting with us this summer.  A big thanks to four fabulous Research Assistants this past fall and spring! The Mobile Voice Project would not be as far along today if it hadn't been for all of your hard work!

This Week in MVP: Awesome Undergraduates!

Congratulations to our team of undergraduate research assistants for their winning proposal to receive an NCSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences Undergraduate Research Award for $375 each, or a total award of $1500! You all have earned it! For the award, over the next 6 weeks, students will be trained on various qualitative research techniques and then have a chance to implement them to analyze the photos and audio from our MVP sessions. Can't wait to see what they learn from all of our participants' stories...

This Week in MVP: "VOICE!"

We strive to create a forum in which our participants can have VOICE about their opinions and experiences related to mobility, both through their photographs and through group discussion. One participant recently shared her experience of being able to raise her VOICE through MVP: "I am glad that I have the chance to share my point of view on riding the bus. I received the chance to ask questions and give my opinion."

This Week in MVP: "New Resources"

Participants have been very enthusiastic about the Mobile Voice Project and being able to share their experiences about transportation in a group discussion. One participant said “ I was able to learn and find out new resources that will help us.”

This Week in MVP: Our New Video

Check out this new 'About MVP' video (recently added to the 'About MVP' page) to learn more about what we do and who we are:

MVP submitted this video to the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) video contest. No word back yet over whether or not our video placed first, but hopefully we will know soon! Winners of the contest not only receive a monetary prize, but the video will also be shared amongst psychologists and researchers in the Community Psychology field. It's a great way to raise awareness and funds, which is why MVP decided entering the contest would be a viable outlet for spreading the word about the work we do.

Mary Churchill and Sally Highsmith, two of our undergraduate research assistants, compiled the video. All pictures included in the video were taken by participants as part of the pilot MVP session at the Women's Center of Wake County. We had a lot of footage and participant pictures to work with, so we tried to diversify the types of shots used to give viewers an idea of what Raleigh's transportation system is like through the lens of our participants.

The project enabled our team to learn some new skills in movie making and put them to work in raising awareness about our project!

This Week in MVP: "Great experience... BIG difference"!

Feed back from participants has been overwhelmingly positive surrounding advocacy for public transit. One participant stated the project was a "Great experience thus far...I look forward to learning more and participating to make a BIG difference in Raleigh, too!"

MVP Awarded SCRA Policy Grant!

The Mobile Voice Project was recently awarded the Society for Community Research and Action's Policy Grant! A big thanks to SCRA for supporting our project. 

The money from this grant is crucial to help us fund the bus tickets we provide to our participants as incentives and to be able to purchase the cameras and other supplies to carry out the project!

This Week in MVP: Results from MVP Pilot so far...

We held the pilot session for the Mobile Voice Project throughout late November and early December of 2012. Our team is hopeful that the data we collected will shed some light on the mobility patterns of the participants from the Women's Center of Wake County, and help us to fine-tune the logistics of the intervention before full implementation.

The numerous photographs taken by the participants were particularly interesting to go through and analyze. MVP team members are currently in the process of compiling the best shots and using them to create a video about the project. I've edited quite a few at this point, and I'd really like to share some of my personal favorites because I think they all illustrate the fact that these women lead complex and different lives, though all of them are affected by transportation in some way.

The Raleigh skyline as seen from South Harrington street.

Some women find it easier to walk in lieu of using public transportation due to delays and bus fare. 

Moore Square Station is a bustling area where Raleigh travelers wait to catch bus connections. 

Pedestrian and public transportation, side by side.

We are excited to share more photos with you through this process. As of right now, we are all working to get "official" sessions of the project underway, both at the Women's Center and at the Helen Wright Center for Women. We will begin full implementation in March, so make sure to check back on this blog for updates!