Browsing by Author "Nagle, Lara"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Assessing the Impacts of Ability One at Melwood
    Lyon-Hill, Sarah; Mohammed, Afroze; Nagle, Lara; Moore, David; Seo, Hye-Jeong; Ulakey, Allison (Virginia Tech, 2022)
    In 2021, the nonprofit Melwood contracted with the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement and the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG) to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of their AbilityOne program. The goal was to assess the true cost of Melwood’s AbilityOne program to the federal government and understand the broader benefits of this socio-economic program. The AbilityOne Program, administered by an independent federal agency, facilitates the employment of people who are blind or have significant disabilities so they may achieve their maximum employment potential.
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    Community Social Polarization and Change: Evidence from Three Recent Studies
    Stephenson, Max O. Jr.; Abella-Lipsey, Beng; Nagle, Lara; Moayerian, Neda (MDPI, 2020-05-29)
    This review article analyzes three major recent books (written by Robert Wuthnow, Arlie R. Hochschild, and James and Deborah Fallows, respectively) concerning ongoing political, economic and social change in United States’ rural communities to probe differing frames and claims among them. We contend these works together point to vital social and political forces that must receive increased attention if the communities they treat are to address the challenges confronting them successfully. Thereafter, we briefly and illustratively underscore the significance of these authors’ arguments using our own ongoing work in two small communities confronting catastrophic economic decline and social fissuring in Central Appalachia. Overall, we argue that an analytical approach that combines elements of Wuthnow’s sensitivity to demographic and scalar polarization and divides, coupled with Hochschild’s emphasis on opportunities to instill and call on empathetic imagination in development efforts, could assist these rural communities’ residents to understand more fully the dynamics at play within them and to craft strategies aimed at addressing those challenges. In particular, we contend that the Fallowses’ call for pragmatic interventions and partnership building must be accompanied by long-term efforts to overcome the fear engendered by the view that rural community life constitutes a consumerist zero-sum game, and the accompanying widespread belief in those jurisdictions that scapegoating and explicit or implicit racialized hierarchies represent reasonable responses to such anxieties.
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    Critz, VA: Critz Community Center Conceptual Design and Conceptual Site Master Plan
    Harrington, Hayley; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Nagle, Lara; Stephenson, Max O. Jr.; Steele, Julie (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2022-09-01)
    The Reynolds Homestead, Community Design Assistance Center, and the Institute for Policy and Governance worked with community members and a stakeholders committee from Envision Critz, Inc. to develop a conceptual redevelopment plan for the Critz Community Center and a ~13-acre property. The purpose was to create work with the community to develop a vision for the community center and park that will provide after-school education and heritage arts programs for students attending Hardin Reynolds Memorial School and Critz community members.
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    Critz, VA: Critz Community Center Conceptual Design and Conceptual Site Master Plan Executive Summary
    Harrington, Hayley; Gilboy, Elizabeth; Nagle, Lara; Steele, Julie; Stephenson, Max O. Jr. (Virginia Tech. Community Design Assistance Center, 2022-09-01)
    The Reynolds Homestead, Community Design Assistance Center, and the Institute for Policy and Governance worked with community members and a stakeholders committee from Envision Critz, Inc. to develop a conceptual redevelopment plan for the Critz Community Center and a ~13-acre property. The purpose was to create work with the community to develop a vision for the community center and park that will provide after-school education and heritage arts programs for students attending Hardin Reynolds Memorial School and Critz community members.
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    Is peer support a tipping point for the opioid use disorder crisis in Appalachia? Research holds the answer
    Horn, Kimberly; Mathis, Stephanie M.; Nagle, Lara; Hagaman, Angela; Dunkenberger, Mary B.; Pack, Robert (2024-06-25)
    Background: The present commentary highlights the pressing need for systematic research to assess the implementation and effectiveness of medications for opioid use disorder, used in conjunction with peer recovery support services, to improve treatment outcomes for individuals with opioid use disorder in Central Appalachia. This region, encompassing West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Western North Carolina, has long grappled with a disproportionate burden of the opioid crisis. Due to a complex interplay of cultural, socioeconomic, medical, and geographic factors, individuals in Central Appalachia face challenges in maintaining treatment and recovery efforts, leading to lower success rates. Approach: To address the issue, we apply an exploratory approach, looking at the intersection of unique regional factors with the utilization of medications for opioid use disorder, in conjunction with peer recovery support services. This combined treatment strategy shows promise in addressing crucial needs in opioid use disorder treatment and enhancing the recovery journey. However, there are significant evidence gaps that need to be addressed to validate the expected value of incorporating peer support into this treatment strategy. Conclusion: We identify nine obstacles and offer recommendations to address the gaps and advance peer recovery support services research. These recommendations include the establishment of specific partnerships and infrastructure for community-engaged, peer recovery support research; improved allocation of funding and resources to implement evidence-based practices such as peer support and medication-assisted treatment; developing a more precise definition of peer roles and their integration across the treatment and recovery spectrum; and proactive efforts to combat stigma through outreach and education.
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    Tapping into community expertise: stakeholder engagement in the design process
    Morshedzadeh, Elham; Dunkenberger, Mary Beth; Nagle, Lara; Ghasemi, Shiva; York, Laura; Horn, Kimberly (Taylor & Francis, 2022-10)
    The Connection to Care (C2C) project, a transdisciplinary work-in-progress, employs community-engaged participatory research and design methods at the nexus of policy adaptation and product innovations. C2C aims to advance practices that identify and leverage the critical junctures at which people with substance use disorder (SUD) seek lifesaving services and treatment, utilizing stakeholder input in all stages of design and development. Beginning in the Fall of 2018, members of our research team engaged with those at the forefront of the addiction crisis, including first responders, harm reduction and peer specialists, treatment providers, and individuals in recovery and in active substance use in a community greatly impacted by SUD. Through this engagement, the concept for programs and products representing a connection to care emerged, including the design of a backpack to meet the needs of individuals with SUD and those experiencing homelessness. From 2020 to 2022, more than 1,200 backpacks with lifesaving and self-care supplies have been distributed in local communities, as one component of the overall C2C initiative. The backpack is a recognized symbol of the program and has served as an impetus for further program and policy explorations, including as a lens to better understand the role of ongoing stigma. Though addiction science has evolved significantly in the wake of the opioid epidemic, artifacts of policies and practices that criminalize and stigmatize SUD remain as key challenges. This paper explains the steps that C2C has taken to address these challenges, and to empower a community that cares.