Author: Wen Cong

Analogous Immersion

Posted on by Wen Cong

Ethnography Summary

Wen-Cong Toh investigated the effect of having a disciplinary record at Notre Dame on job or graduate school applications. To do this, I talked to a few medical school deans and looked at different consulting and finance job applications for entry-level positions.

Dates: Throughout March and April

Type: Analogous Immersion

Location: In Hesburgh Library or in Jordan Hall of Science (speaking with medical school deans after presentations)

Employment/Graduate School Options Investigated:

  1. University of Chicago Medical School: The dean said that she normally asks the medical school advisor here at Notre Dame about the severity of any violation before coming to a decision about it (giving the advisor a chance to vouch for the applicant’s character or explain if Notre Dame is just really strict in a certain area). However, the dean also stated that it always plays some role in the final admission decision, especially between similarly qualified applicants, as it shows immaturity and irresponsibility.
  2. Loyola Stritch School of Medicine: The dean here said similar things to the one from the University of Chicago, and made it clear that disciplinary records are judged on a case by case basis. She said that the severity of the violation, the year it took place, changes the student has made, and character references in letters of recommendation, would all be taken into account. However, a student with a clean record would still obviously be viewed better in that aspect compared to a student with community standard violations.
  3. Triage Consulting: No where on the application did it ask for my disciplinary record. They only asked if I had been convicted of a crime. When I asked the recruiter why this was, he said that serious violations that result in suspension would be observed in the transcript. In those cases, they were unlikely to accept the candidate, regardless of other qualifications.
  4. Health for America Fellowship: They asked me in the first round interview if I had any academic or conduct violations on my record at Notre Dame and if yes, to describe what happened and how I learned from it. If I had answered yes, it would have probably made me feel very uncomfortable and the interview quickly turned to feel more like an interrogation.

Top Learnings:

  1. Graduate schools seem to weigh conduct violations much more seriously than employers. This may be because you would once again be in an academic setting, and representing the school as a student (less freedom than a regular job).
  2. Like the housing search immersion as an ex-convict, this whole process was generally vague and ambiguous, and the deans/recruiters were reluctant to discuss it. It is a very discretionary process with no objective guidelines or benchmarks being used. The school and company websites were no help as well, so many times, the applicant would be applying blind, with no idea how their conduct violation would affect their chances.

Key Insight – While it is obviously very different from being formerly incarcerated, asking about and explaining conduct violations game me a very similar feeling to the immersion I conducted. I felt uncomfortable, awkward, and embarrassed, as none of these schools/employers I spoke to gave a signal that they would embrace the idea of giving second chances. If I had a serious conduct violation on my Notre Dame record, it would have definitely made the job searching process much harder and even more stressful.

Interactive, Graffiti Wall

Posted on by Wen Cong

Ethnography Summary

A graffiti wall was conducted at the end of a peer-to-peer meeting where two questions were posed: 1. What were the biggest obstacles that you faced as someone just released from prison?. 2. What are the biggest reasons that you have had trouble finding housing?

However, the members at the meeting were unexpectedly reluctant to participate in the study. I think they felt embarrassed in front of the others, and the meeting ran a little long so many members left a little early. However, some people emailed me later that week with their answers, so those were also included in this summary.

Date: 3/8/17

Type: Interactive

Location: Imani Unidad, Peer-to-Peer meeting.

Top 3 Learnings:

  1. Housing related issues was listed as one of the top obstacle people faced upon release from incarceration in about half of the responses, and all of the individuals that did not face such issues, were lucky to have supportive family members to live with. Other issues include pressure from gangs/other negative influences, gaining employment, and obtaining official identification (driver’s license/social security card).
  2. Finding housing was only one of the housing-related issues stated for ex-convicts. Individuals said they also suffer from slum lords, terrible living conditions, and toxic environments in their easiest options.
  3. By far the biggest reason cited for why they had trouble finding housing was a lack of income and resources. This limits their options considerably and keeps them discouraged from even looking/applying. This was surprising given that we have been approaching this issue more from the lens of discriminatory behavior by landlords.

Key Insights – (1) This meeting was very enlightening and powerful, and a lot of insights were gained from observing and speaking to the clients. It was very interesting to hear about housing issues other than just difficulty finding a place to stay. We have not really considered the quality of the housing or the type of environment it would be for the former offender.  (2) I was pleasantly surprised by the positivity of a lot of the ex-convicts were about their future, and by how many of them were excited and open to hearing our ideas. We watched a documentary, 13th, in the meeting, and they were especially interested in hearing our perspectives on the issues discussed in the film.

Immersion: Looking for housing as an ex-convict

Posted on by Wen Cong

Ethnography Summary

Wen-Cong Toh investigated low-income housing options in South Bend as someone who was recently incarcerated would.

Date: 3/5/17 and 3/15/17

Type: Immersion

Location: In the library, making phone calls and using the computers to browse websites and applications.

Housing options investigated:

  1. South Bend Housing Authority, Public Housing: On the application, it asks if the applicant has a. been evicted from Public Housing before, b. ever been arrested for illegal use of a controlled substance or activities related to the abuse alcohol, c. been convicted or arrested of any criminal activity for the past three years, and d. been charged or convicted of a sexual crime. It was quite an uncomfortable experience filling out the application given those questions, and while they weren’t explicitly discriminatory in saying that answering yes to any of those questions would disqualify an applicant, it definitely felt implied.
  2. Dismas House: This organization houses former offenders and students in a family setting, and is meant to bring ex-convicts and the community together, in the hopes of a reconciliation. When I called the Dismas House to inquire about a living opportunity, they stated that they are currently full but they can put me on a waitlist. The house also had strict policies such as: each resident must secure and maintain a job, pay service fees of $115 a week, and obey a curfew among other rules (no violence, no use of alcohol/drugs, etc.).                                                                                                                                    
  3. Prairie Apartments: A very affordable apartment complex in South Bend. When I called to inquire about their openness to housing a formerly incarcerated individual, the secretary told me that a manager would call me back later that week. I was never contacted by them.
  4. The Upper Room: A sober living environment/community here in South Bend, for men who are recovering from alcohol/drug addiction. While there are many requirements, such as obtaining a 12 step fellowship sponsor, attending AA, providing 5-10 service hours per week, no record of criminal sexual behavior, and a clean drug/alcohol screen when applying, The Upper Room actually seemed like a very good fit for a former offender with drug/alcohol issues. Residents only pay $300 per month, and a social and support system is available 24 hours a day.
  5. Marmain Apartments: Their website is quite limited so I called to ask about the application process and if they were open to accepting ex-convicts. The man on the phone stated that I would have to come into the office to fill out the application (which brought potential transportation issues to mind), and stated that they had no explicit rules against former offenders, but that it would be a subjective decision by the unit manager. He made it clear that it would be a very subjective decision based on the crime. However, he did not give me any contact information for the unit manager, so I would have had to apply and then probably be interviewed after (about my criminal history).
  6. A few other apartment complexes that I called had similar responses to Marmain above. It seemed to be a subjective decision by managers and the specific type crime would be weighed heavily.

Top 3 Learnings:

  1. One constant throughout this process was that basically all of the apartments/landlords/living communities that I contacted would disqualify applicants with a history of sexual crimes, so if that’s on the ex-convict’s record, he basically has no options.
  2. While there are available housing options for ex-convicts, there is not nearly enough as existing programs lack necessary funding. Both public housing and Dismas house have very long waitlists, and The Upper Room has a waitlist as well. Since those are by far the cheapest options, it leaves an ex-convict with limited options if unemployed.
  3. The whole process is very vague and ambiguous as many websites are old and not up to date, and when called, you are often referred to a manager who may be very difficult to reach. Finally, if you do end up getting to speak to someone in a position of authority, they always say that it is up to their discretion and that they would have to look into the exact crime that was committed and conduct a thorough background check (politely implying that they would at least be very reluctant to rent to a former offender).

Key Insights – (1) I felt very awkward and embarrassed when contacting these organizations as it was uncomfortable to ask if they would accept ex-convicts. While no one was outwardly dismissive, there was often a shift in the tone after this point was raised. Before I brought up an ex-conviction, many apartment complexes would try to sell me on their amenities and try to get me in for a tour, but once I brought it up, it turned into me having to prove myself and convince them that they should at least give me a chance. (2) At the end of the immersion, I felt extremely discouraged and hopeless as I realized how much rejection I would have to face and overcome if I was really in this position as an ex-convict looking for low-income housing options. It is a very difficult process to undergo on my own so ex-convicts definitely need a lot of support and help in this area.

John, Individual Interview (Ex-Convict, Imani Unidad Client)

Posted on by Wen Cong

Ethnography Summary

Wen-Cong Toh interviewed John, a new client of Imani Unidad, before a peer to peer support group meeting.
John has recently been released (a few months ago) after spending a year in jail for burglary. He was convinced to go to this meeting by family, friends, and his social worker.

Date: 3/8/17

Type: Individual Interview

Location: Imani Unidad

Team participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:  

He is an African American male in his late 20’s, unemployed, and living with his mother. He has three kids (spread out in different homes), but only gets to see them once or twice a month.

What is this person about – what drives him/her?  He is driven to make a change in his life, get a job, and move out of his mom’s home into his own place. He wants to make these changes for his kids, as he wants more access/time with them; he plans on bringing them all under the same roof in the future.

What is this person’s biggest point of pain?  Not getting to see or spend time with his kids. He is embarrassed about his past mistakes and is apparently not in a healthy environment in his mom’s home.

Memorable quotes from interview:

“My kids are everything to me man. That’s why I’m doing all of this, I’m also taking an interview class to help me find a job. But it’s so hard, if it weren’t for the kids, I would’ve quit.”

“I think this group is going to help. It’ll be cool to hear everyone’s stories and help each other out.”

“I haven’t really started looking for housing yet because I just have no money right now. I gotta find a job first. Going to jail was a low point, I’m learning, I gotta focus on what’s important”

Top 3 Learnings:

  1. Going to prison was the low point of John’s life (thus far), He didn’t really think about how it would affect his family or kids until it was too late. If it weren’t for his mom’s help, he would be living on the streets right now.
  2. John blamed his incarceration on hanging around the wrong crowd and having bad influences since he was a child. No one has ever showed or taught him that he had an option to determine his own future, and not fall down the same paths of gangs/drugs/crime as his cousins and “friends”.
  3. It is very hard to stay motivated to turn your life around without goals like John’s desire to get more visitation with his children and earn back their trust. A support system is also critical.

Key Insights – (1) Imani Unidad must try to reach at-risk individuals, so that they realize that they do have a choice about which path to take. We shouldn’t wait until these individuals hit rock-bottom before helping them. (2) Goal-setting is very important and needs to be emphasized/taught to clients.

Activities:

  • Attends peer-to-peer group at Imani Unidad.
  • Taking a class to learn how to search and interview for classes.
  • Living with mother, but trying to find his own place.

Environment

  • Toxic, with many bad influences.
  • Growing support group.

Interactions:  

  • Hopefully with peers at Imani Unidad, where they can keep each other motivated and on track.
  • With potential employers and landlords.
  • With his support group, friends and family (primarily his kids).

Objects:

  • Transportation
  • Phone

Design Criteria

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Guiding Design Principles: Imani Unidad

Design Goal: The target customer for our project is not so laid out and specific as it is with other projects. The organization we are serving is called Imani Unidad which helps ex-convicts with AIDS sustain a better lifestyle and build a real support system. By a function of us trying to help the organization, we in turn share the same end result for the end user/customer. The target customer being the afflicted individuals, the design we need to help Imani Unidad implement is ultimately providing a support system more effectively so that we may prevent these individuals from hitting ‘rock bottom’ before it gets too much for them to even try. Along those lines, our project really looks to combat the systematic segregation of such individuals with these pasts, particularly in the housing and job market that prevent these individuals from getting a decent living area and job.

User Perception: The offering we suggest for the organization, Imani Unidad, is ultimately crucial for them to achieve their continuing goal of helping the community and the members at risk or currently affected by AIDS or incarceration. This as a result is a type of design solely focused on the user’s well being and crucial for improving it in the socioeconomic and mental sense. Given the nature of the mission, there are many individuals whom might not want to associate with the organization or help improve on its goal even if they have been afflicted. People fear for their reputation as the disease is synonymous with sexual relationships and such work with the organization might shed a negatively perceived light on individuals associated with it. The key research insights can really only be taken from the professionals working in Imani Unidad and the people that they are serving. Without the needs and issues dictated from these individuals, there is very little to go on to properly serve them other than mere speculation and outcome analysis.

Problems/Needs/opportunities: The target user in our case, being the afflicted individuals, would prefer the outcome of the offering to be one that provides a consistent platform for support and one that strives to ultimately make the users their own best advocates. Along the same lines, the offering to Imani Unidad would be one that ultimately tries to change the system of how members of society with a past, like the individuals in this case, can seek housing and work without being discriminated. This in turn is really a key component to laying the foundation for self support and a real permanent and positive change in the lives of the individuals seeking help from Imani Unidad. The highlight the main current pain points the user is experiencing now: support systems are not lasting or personable enough for individuals to stay in check, the current housing market generally prevents individuals from gaining decent housing, and employers usually turn away people with a criminal history. To ultimately change one’s life, there has to be a somewhat strong degree of financial stability especially for these individuals. They need decent jobs and housing options so that they can keep away from harmful environments that would see them regress to their past.

Functional Attributes: The order of importance really for the user is first gaining an actual support system and seeing greater self advocacy for a better life. The second would be housing as a major component for why people become afflicted with crime and drug use is of lack of decent and adequate housing leading them to the streets. The last deals with the job; when the user really gets more established, a job is really the final chapter of a life change as it greatly adds importance to the user’s life; subject to change importance level with housing as it depends on economic standing of user. The design of the offering is specifically tailor made for people who have been previously incarcerated (or at risk of) and have AIDS. Therefore the offering needs to be compatible with that specific group.

Constraints: The confines of our project work really lie within the boundary of what can be done by Imani Unidad. Being an official organization, there are certain restrictions on what the organization can and cannot do such as with the degree to which they can reach and help clients that isn’t intrusive. Another constraint to our work is really how successful we can be with trying to implement a change in the housing and job market. Other than gaining insight and providing employees and estate agents with anecdotes, not much can be done on our side from a legal standpoint to change how these markets are handled and who they can catered to. As well, we ourselves cannot gain more insight from afflicted individuals than what they choose to provide, be it biased or not; we cannot push them for information nor can we force them to help make the organization better to serve the individuals more accurately.

 

Work Arounds Spring Break

Posted on by Wen Cong

My roommate and I had different solutions to how to prop up our phones to watch the in-flight entertainment shows/movies on our flight.

At a restaurant in Mexico, they had ran out of sauce containers, so we used the caps of drink cups to hold different kinds of salsa.

Gallery Day Reflection

Posted on by Wen Cong

Our Gallery day with Debra went very well; she came in with one of her associates, Bayu, and we went through the ethnographic research we have conducted so far. We ended up finishing 3 expert interviews, 4 interactive interviews, an interactive card sort, and part of an immersion study. They were very impressed by the amount of information and insights we had collected despite relatively little contact with Imani Unidad (scheduling issues).

Debra especially seemed to really enjoy our interviews/card sort with landlords around South Bend as they reinforced some sentiments against ex-offenders that Imani Unidad has been suspecting for some time. Going further, the interviews provided very interesting insights as to why certain biases and discriminatory practices exist. Debra and Bayu took a lot of notes during this part of our presentation, and they wanted us to continue this line of interviewing with other realtors and land lords that don’t just serve students. In the next few weeks, we are planning on finishing our ethnographic research, including the immersion of calling different apartment complexes and landlords as an ex-convict looking for housing.

George Lowe, Expert Interview, Director of Resident Services at The Center in Asbury Park

Posted on by Wen Cong

Ethnography Summary

Wen-Cong Toh interviewed George Lowe, The Director of Resident Services at The Center in Asbury Park.
The Center in Asbury Park is a volunteer based New Jersey not-for-profit service organization, providing support services for people living with HIV/AIDS and their caregivers. They have nutritional programs as well as housing programs like Center House, which houses 25 permanent residents with HIV, many of whom are formerly incarcerated.

Date: 3/7/15

Type: Expert Interview

Location: Phone Call

Team participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:  

He is a gay white male in his 50’s and 60’s, and is responsible for Center House (residential arm of the organization) and their emergency placement program for homeless individuals.

What is this person about – what drives him/her?  He is very driven to help the HIV-infected population. He ran community health centers in New York City. He is still working in healthcare, just with a homeless population now.

What is this person’s biggest point of pain?  Not having enough funding to support all of their clients, clients being overly concerned about social stigmas, navigating the unique intersecting health (HIV and mental), housing, and incarceration issues for each resident.

Memorable quotes from interview:

“Housing is Healthcare.”

“If you have a felony, a lot of people won’t rent to you, if you have been convicted of the distribution or manufacturing of drugs, you can’t get any benefits through social service. Employers won’t hire you. We want to keep them in care but that’s impossible if they’re not housed properly. It is not fair; a felony can be just contempt of the court. Upon release, they are not supposed to be discriminated against, but they are.”

“It is difficult to get apartment owner/landlords to accept these people because they’re often undesirables of community, who do come with a relatively high level of risk.”

“The law creates the stigma, both against the HIV population and ex-convicts. With the HIV population, if they are asymptomatic (through medication) and use condoms, there is a zero percent chance of transmitting the infection, so they feel like they shouldn’t have to disclose (to sexual partners).”

“The biggest barrier is within the community with rent, we must pay market price to house our clients.”

Top 3 Learnings:

  1. There are actually a lot of grants that non-profits can apply for to help this specific population as people are worried about the potential outbreak of HIV. When housing clients in motels/apartments, the center pays for all rent and amenities. The center takes responsibility for their clients if anything goes wrong, so the program is set up to be safer and profitable for the landlords.
  2. Mental health is another major issue; many clients grow to feel that they don’t deserve employment or housing and are very concerned about the stigma around both being incarcerated and having HIV. They develop conditions like depression and bipolar disorder. Suicidal clients are especially common when they first enter the cycle of drug abuse/incarceration and homelessness/re-incarceration.
  3. The center does have pretty strict rules for their residents. While letting in most ex-felons, they don’t house major sex offenders and they have strict rules against using drugs while living in the center. Clients with substance abuse issues must stick to a treatment plan set out by their counselor.

Key Insight – (1) Imani Unidad can apply for federal grants to start up a housing program for their clients with HIV, or just obtain funds to help clients pay for emergency housing and amenities. This would make landlords in the area much more receptive to the idea of accepting formerly incarcerated individuals, many of whom probably have very low incomes as well. (2) There should be more emphasis placed on treating the mental health issues among this population, as that may be a root cause to why so many struggle to find housing or employment. If they don’t have the self-confidence or mental stability to represent and stand up for themselves well, it makes it easier for the community to marginalize them

Activities:

  • Plans, directs and coordinates activities necessary to centralize case management across multiple agencies with multiple disciplines
  • Applies for grants
  • Determines the best use of funding to help the most individuals
  • Negotiates with landlords and apartment complexes in their area to accept their clients as tenants
  • Determines where to place the homeless clients in their emergency housing program
  • Leads the process for new residents to move into Center House
  • Ensuring that the medical and physical (food/shelter) needs of their clients are met.

Environment

  • Asbury Park, Monmouth County, NJ
  • A wealthy, generally liberal town, located on the Jersey Shore
  • Can be very depressing and seem hopeless at times. A recent client committed suicide recently before they could house him at Center House.
  • The Center has been described as: friendly, helpful, and informed but nonjudgmental.

Interactions:  

  • Helping clients infected with HIV (Both residents and nonresidents).
  • Many of these individuals also have been incarcerated, homeless, and/or drug abusers.
  • Appealing to federal and state officials for funding, especially those from the CDC and State Department of Health.
  • Other non-profit organizations (such as those that focus on the homeless)
  • Educating community leaders and business owners
  • Directing their employees at The Center in Asbury Park.

Objects:

  • The Center
  • Transportation
  • Shelter
  • Computer and phone

Users:

  • Clients (residents and nonresidents) with HIV
  • HIV-infected individual who is homeless/formerly incarcerated.
  • People in the community
  • Government officials.