Photo of the Week: Lonely or Shelter?

This is a photo taken by one of our participants. Her description of what it means to her: "To me it's about perception of public transportation. It could be lonely. But it also could be safe because there's a shelter there, and there's not a shelter everywhere." — at Rex Hospital.

Notable News in Mobility

The Mobile Voice Blog will not only be covering the progress of the Project but will also identify and dissect current events and policy issues that affect the women we work with.

One of the largest influences on our study populations’ ability to have dependable transportation that meets their needs is the government’s willingness to properly fund public transportation. As reported in a recent article by The Progressive Pulse, “North Carolina’s transportation system helps form vital social and economic structures by connecting people to services, jobs, and other opportunities across the state and beyond.” Without appropriately funded public transportation, citizens, including the women we work with every day, can miss out on opportunities to advance in careers and have access to vital services. Without transportation to adequate employment opportunities, women like those working with MVP can be barred from advancing economically and becoming homed. This is alarming, considering that North Carolina’s transportation budget is “facing a $60 billion shortfall for transportation improvements through 2040.”

Not only are forecasts of funding grim but, “The FY2012-13 budget took nearly $240 million from the Highway Fund and Highway Trust Funds to improve General Fund availability.” With transportation funds increasingly diverted to unspecified projects, it is hard to see how our elected officials will use such funds to in ways that will help disadvantaged populations to escape poverty. With a public transportation system that has already proven to be inadequate in serving transportation-disadvantaged populations, reducing funding to vital public transportation services can further hinder disadvantaged populations that already struggling.

As we move forward we will continue to examine the key issues to the improvement of the lives of our study population and hopefully encourage dialogue within our community as to how we can all come together to overcome transportation inequality.

Source: Progressive Pulsehttp://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/03/14/budget-preview-north-carolinas-transportation-budget-faces-long-term-60-billion-shortfall/

Comments? Questions? Sound off on our project Facebook page.

Author: Nicholas Flickinger

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!"

Photo of the Week: Overcrowded

A photo taken by a participant shows how overcrowded buses in Raleigh can be! Overcrowded buses leave little room for older transit riders to sit and can be problematic when new passengers are boarding a bus that is already full of people or even must be turned away when a bus is completely full. Another good reason to advocate for more transit in the Triangle!

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!