Table 3.

Findings from Community Partners

Connection to Own Community
1. I decided to participate in the walking assessment in order to learn more about the environment in my own community.
2. I liked the entire enterprise and staff, the idea of walking around the neighborhood and volunteering to do something that seemed like an anthropological study. Plus I was unemployed and the stipend helped feed us.
3. I decided to do this assessment because my input was going to make a difference in my community, knowing that this will be a change for the future.
The SEED Community
4. The biggest asset or strength of and in the SEED is the determination of its members to survive and enjoy life. People also allow each other to have imperfections and refrain from being overly judgmental. The biggest weakness in the seed is the lack of collective community activism on issues which have serious ramifications for its members…. I also observe lack of care for the environment exhibited by unnecessary garbage and dog poop…. The major negative change taking place in the SEED is gentrification because people who live in the neighborhood may eventually not be able to afford to live there.
5. Its culture is irreplaceable. [Deficits include] poverty, ignorance of outside opportunities, [and] gentrification.
6. There are new developments, housing and nice parks. There were no supermarkets and no healthy restaurants. Also, it’s hard to be Hispanic and see that our food is not healthy. There were fast food restaurants that turn into obesity and diabetes. [A negative thing is] New co-op buildings that are not built for people in the community.
7. [Biggest SEED asset is] meeting people that care… [the biggest positive change is] New buildings being built and seeing blocks maintaining their upkeep, [with the biggest weakness being] Certain blocks appear not to show any significant progress. [Negative changes include] Certain corners do not appear that safe. [The biggest surprise was] that people were positive … I was surprised the way the neighborhood is progressing and changing.
8. There are many good changes, like the trees that were put in our community, the charter schools for better education, and the parent leaders that make a difference in a child’s or parents life…. The bad changes are the new condos that are being built. The culture and roots of east and Spanish Harlem are becoming just a memory. Also, the neighborhood is now the site of Odyssey House and methadone programs.
Learning and Surprises
9. In general I enjoyed working with an academic partner because it gave me the opportunity to share some of my ideas about my community and learn about some of their impressions. Sometimes a person on the outside looking in can be insightful and capture things that a person misses when they are on the inside so to speak…. I learned to pay more attention to the physical environment in my community as it relates to health and safety.
10. [I was surprised by] how much is actually going on in my environment: Construction, traffic, and commerce…. I don’t think I learned anything I didn’t already know; I already knew there weren’t enough places to exercise, and that the food available for my budget wasn’t very healthy.
11. What surprised me the most was to see little things that are important but people don’t pay attention to these. For example, the light changing too fast is like an accident waiting to happen; so many little things that I never even thought about…. The most important thing was the experience I gained. After doing the evaluation I started to take everything a lot more serious.
12. What surprised me the most was the minute things I saw. For example, I was surprised how many empty building there are, how many cracked sidewalks we had, how on every corner there was no trash cans, and how quickly the crossing light change.
Partner Interactions
13. The positive experiences associated with my partnership were someone to share the work in a relaxed atmosphere. Other than a few minor disagreements on the status of stores in the neighborhood there were no negative experiences.
14. I think it was very helpful, we made sure neither of us made mistakes, and helped each other when we could. I don’t feel like there were any negative experiences.
15. [The partnership] was very successful and interesting. One of the observations was about a crosswalk missing and a week later they had put a crosswalk there.
16. We were in a team, so I felt safe. We compared notes and corrected each other. I could give more of an insider info since I live in East Harlem.
17. One day I was with a new person who was really bossy and felt superior and almost disrespectful of me. I could not make her listen to my POV. She was aggravating. I complained about her and was told she won’t be on the team anymore anyway…. As I said, I enjoyed all the teamsters apart from that one arrogant youth.
Data Collection
18. The major differences between the data I collected and that of one of my academic partners was based on the knowledge that I had about the social patterns in the areas assessed. For example, I had to inform one academic partner that a restaurant which she thought was no longer in business was closed because it opens later on for dinner.
19. [Differences in our findings were] Minor details; some things were missed that should’ve been noticed. Nothing too major though.
20. It is amazing how little things are the most important.
21. [How did the partnership affect data collection?] In a positive way. I got to have my input and they helped me be more professional, though at times it seemed too hair splitting, like timing the same stop light several times…. The staff helped, but I think without us the data would have been less accurate. I also feel good about being part of my neighborhood thru giving something back.