When Geoffrey Gusoff '07.5 participated in a community service project through the Breaks Project Program in January of his first year at Brown, he saw firsthand how Providence's housing shortage and housing policies affect city residents.
"You get to see a side of Providence that you don't often see," said Gusoff, whose project, which took place over winter break, attempted to address homelessness in the city.
Breaks projects, sponsored by the Swearer Center for Public Service, allow students to spend one week during winter or spring break tackling local issues and social problems.
Seeing how issues like homelessness and related policies affect Providence residents, especially during the winter, can be heartbreaking, Gusoff said. He added that working on such projects in Providence helps participants realize that community service efforts can help effect change locally.
Gusoff's experience in the program inspired him to co-found Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, an organization aimed at addressing the Providence housing shortage.
From Jan. 15 to Jan. 20, about 30 Brown students will participate in an immersion project that will get them to think about long-term goals for addressing a range of problems. The program's structure sets it apart from traditional community service efforts. Rather than undertaking a project that has a definitive end - such as building a house or helping at a soup kitchen - the program encourages students to extensively research an issue and generate dialogue within the local community.
"The mission is to provide students with tools they need to think critically about the potential and limitations of their roles as agents of social change in Providence," said Emma Tai '07.5, a student coordinator of the program.
The goals of the different projects depend on the people involved and what they want to accomplish, she added.
Participants will break up into five or six groups that learn about different issues within the city. Past projects have tackled housing policies, education, immigrants' rights and social welfare programs.
Rather than having their entire project laid out for them, the students design their own project to focus on a particular issue. Students may spend time volunteering for a community organization, getting to know different leaders and activists or conducting research into specific problems and potential solutions.
The intensity of the program is part of what makes the program a particularly powerful experience, according to Gusoff.
Alan Flam, senior associate University chaplain and senior fellow at the Swearer Center, helps coordinate the Breaks Project Program. Flam said he has been eager to keep the program in Providence rather than travel elsewhere.
The Swearer Center used to operate in other locales such as South Carolina, but program directors decided to focus the program's efforts locally after travel logistics and costs became inconvenient.
Participants are picked to represent a diverse group of people with varying levels of community service experience. Some students have long been involved with community service, while others have no experience at all. When Tai took part in her first project through the Breaks Projects Program, she did not have much community service experience. Now, she is in charge of the program and eager to embark on the upcoming project with a new group of students.
The program costs students $75 for the whole week, a fee that covers food, transportation and housing.
