To deepen their connection between real world experiences and course material, students in two courses, Introduction to Peace & Justice and Community Organizing, completed a class-based community engaged learning project last semester to learn if a local community center would fulfill the needs of the Granite Square neighborhood in Manchester.
Father Anselm Smedile, O.S.B. ’93, the pastor at Saint Raphael Parish which is part of the Granite Square neighborhood, explained that the monks have been involved in that community for the past 135 years. Saint Raphael Parish was established in 1888 when Fr. Sylvester came up from the Abbey in Newark, New Jersey to open the parish and look for land to build Saint Anselm College. Originally serving German and Italian immigrants in the community, the monks have continued to staff the parish and expand their efforts to serve today’s residents.
“We were welcomed by the neighborhood, so we wanted to find out how Saint Raphael could be an active part of the neighborhood and a catalyst for improving the lives of people in the area,” said Fr. Anselm. To do this, students from the College set out to talk with residents and learn more about what they would like to see in the form of a community center at the Parish.
Students in Introduction to Peace and Justice, taught by Professor Sara Smits Keeney, were divided into six groups to dive deeper into a specific research area. The groups researched families, food insecurity, housing, refugee/immigration, substance misuse, and youth. In collaboration with Director of the Meelia Center for Community Engagement and Professor Nickie Lora’s Community Organizing course, students met with community members and organizations, as well as went door-to-door surveying residents. After concluding their research, each group discussed their ideas of how a community center could best address the needs of their specific area.
The results of this research were presented to Fr. Anselm for future reference in plans for the community center. He shared some of the recommendations, such as developing a resource guide for those facing homelessness and creating an after-school program so that neighborhood children have a safe environment to participate in educational activities and sports clubs.
He noted also that there are a number of social services and organizations in Manchester that could be helpful to the community, but their location downtown on the East side of the city makes it difficult for residents of the West side to access. “A community center could serve as a satellite location for them to meet with clients and provide help for the neighborhood,” said Fr. Anselm.
In addition to helping a local community, students gained valuable, first-hand knowledge to enrich their learning in the classroom. “The students were able to connect the concepts of the course to the community based project in various ways, and in ways I didn’t anticipate,” said Professor Smits Keeney. She explained how students cited the community engagement project as “instrumental” in their understanding of course content and concepts.
The efforts of students in both classes reflect an important step on the continuous journey to creating a community center. “Part of community based research is to ‘check back’ with the community members (or those that you gathered the information from)… so that means before anything is implemented it would be essential to confirm that some of these ideas/projects actually represent what the community wants and needs,” said Professor Smits Keeney.
“This project provided an opportunity for students in the class to practice and engage in community organized strategies, so not only were they conducting research but they spent time in the community and coordinating with Sara’s students. It really made the course concepts come to life because they practiced what they were learning in the classroom,” said Lora.
The college recently received funds from the omnibus bill signed on Dec. 29 that will support its efforts at Saint Raphael’s, and in the neighboring community. The Meelia Center for Community Engagement and Campus Ministry in collaboration with St. Raphael’s will work together on the project.
“Saint Raphael’s and the College are committed to the idea of the community center and so our students’ projects are just the beginning of figuring out what the community needs,” said Lora.