Current times call for the promotion of caring communities through collective action. In caring communities, we feel connected, experience a sense of belonging, and deeply care about each other's health and well-being. Seymour Sarason's notion of social change as the creation of settings may have anticipated the art and practice of creating caring communities. Caring communities are thriving environments where members are there for one another, provide support when experiencing challenges, identify issues, take action on what matters to them, and celebrate achievements. In this paper, I call for creating caring communities through collective action. I discuss the concept of caring communities and propose a framework that introduces three key dimensions that characterize care-inducing settings: mutual aid, building on community strengths and assets, and opportunities for engagement and shared power. I discuss how together, these dimensions foster a deep sense of community and belonging, the adoption of caring practices and advocacy, and promote voice, influence, and meaningful social participation. This framework invites a reimagining of community as a relational and justice-oriented space where caring is not peripheral but central to how we organize, engage, and transform together. Examples of my research and action scholarly work illustrate the framework.

Neighborhoods influence health in part through social processes. However, little is known about how multiple neighborhood social processes co-occur, or about within (vs. between) neighborhood variation in social processes and health. This study asked how residents of a large public housing development describe their neighborhood and used latent profile analysis to develop profiles of residents according to their social environment perceptions (N = 527, M = 44, 15% Asian, 19% Black, 38% Latino, 19% White, 8% other). We included cross-race interactions as an understudied aspect of the social environment, along with social cohesion, place attachment, sense of safety, and neighborhood problems. Five profiles were identified. The largest (35% of participants) was generally content with their neighborhood. Another 18% had strongly positive perceptions, 18% were well connected but concerned about neighborhood problems, 15% were socially disengaged, and 15% were strongly dissatisfied. Profile membership was systematically related to individual and contextual factors. Anxiety and depression were highest in the strongly dissatisfied profile and the two profiles containing a mix of positive and negative perceptions (connected but concerned and socially disengaged). Findings show how differences within (not just between) neighborhoods relate to health and have implications for social programs targeting the unique needs and strengths of public housing residents.

Social capital, particularly in the form of supportive relationships and mentorship, plays a crucial role in enhancing college students' academic success and retention. However, disparities in access to these resources contribute to inequities in educational and career outcomes. This study examined the long-term effects of a one-credit course, Connected Scholars, which was designed to teach college students a variety of evidence-based skills for building social capital and recruiting mentors. Drawing on longitudinal administrative data from a large, diverse public university, results demonstrated that passing Connected Scholars was associated with improved retention and an increased likelihood of graduating within 4 or 6 years. Connected Scholars was not associated with significant differences in cumulative GPA at graduation. Results highlight the potential long-term impacts of this semester-long social capital intervention. By increasing college retention and timely degree completion, Connected Scholars may help mitigate economic disparities often experienced by students from marginalized backgrounds.

This study analyzes a participatory project to develop peer support services for people with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) in China. Drawing on interviews with psychiatrists, social workers, service users, and a family caregiver, it examines the conditions, challenges, facilitators, and outcomes of participation in a paternalistic context unfamiliar with such approaches. Participation was made possible by local calls for change, personal trust, and institutional endorsements. Challenges included service users' difficulties understanding technical materials, reticence in group settings, technology barriers, and limited institutional support. To address these, professionals adjusted meeting formats and communication styles, offered emotional and material support, and helped service users engage with project content. Participants recommended including government officials and expanding the team's diversity in future efforts. The process produced a culturally responsive manual integrating diverse stakeholder perspectives, particularly those of service users. It also fostered emerging shifts in professional reflexivity, service user empowerment, and mutual relationships, setting the stage for second-order change. However, participation remained shaped by structural inequalities and lacked sufficient institutional backing for long-term transformation. This case highlights the potential and limits of participatory processes in hierarchical systems and offers strategies to make them more inclusive and transformative for disabled populations in China and beyond.

Federal funding pauses, once considered rare, are increasingly disrupting the stability and continuity of community-engaged research. Even projects with active, awarded grants are experiencing the strain of funding uncertainty, raising substantive concerns among research teams and community partners. These disruptions extend beyond operational delays; they jeopardize the continuity of relationships developed through sustained, collaborative engagement. In the absence of clear information about a project's future, uncertainty undermines trust and challenges the ethical principles that guide human subjects research, particularly beneficence and justice. This paper draws on direct experience and insights from the broader field to examine the practical and ethical implications of funding instability in community-engaged research contexts. It further outlines structural recommendations to mitigate harm, including the establishment of bridge funding mechanisms, the integration of pause-contingency planning into grant proposals, and enhanced transparency from funding agencies. Institutional review boards and oversight entities may consider developing clear guidance for maintaining ethical obligations during funding disruptions. Research continuity must be recognized not as a procedural convenience, but as a foundational element of ethical research practice. Upholding the core values of community-engaged research necessitates systems explicitly designed to promote stability, accountability, and sustained partnership, even amid an increasingly unpredictable funding environment.

The Society for Community Research and Action, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, seeks to advance its commitment to social justice and the elimination of anti-Blackness. This presidential address focuses on how to envision the organization and field of community psychology well beyond 2023 and what it means to dream community psychology into the future.

In September of 2025, the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley-where Dr. Lonnie Snowden was a faculty member for two decades-organized a research symposium to reflect his life's work and to honor his outsized influence on the field of mental health disparities research and on the lives and careers of many mental health policy and services scholars. The symposium, and the events surrounding it, revealed a profound truth about Dr. Snowden's commitment to community psychology: Through his work, not only did he uncover important and difficult insights about disparities in mental health treatment for vulnerable populations with rigor and relevance, but he also orchestrated and developed an intergenerational community of scholars to carry that work forward. Through his mentorship, friendship, and multidisciplinary collaborative research, the community of scholars he has grown and mentored over the last 40 years generates impact equal to that of his scholarship, continuing his legacy in improving access to high quality mental health treatment and reducing mental health disparities. Stories from colleagues, former students, post-doctoral fellows, and his family, illustrate how Dr. Snowden made every person he worked with, especially those he mentored, feel special-seen, valued, and heard. This unique and incredibly important talent is perhaps the biggest part of Dr. Snowden's legacy.

Although peer support is central to the social model approach emphasized in sober living houses (SLHs), no longitudinal studies have examined helping among SLH residents. This longitudinal study examined benefits of helping in three contexts among SLH residents. Data were from 205 participants entering 28 SLHs across 2021-2023. Interviews were at baseline and 1, 2, 3, and 6 months; focal variables were assessed at all interviews using a past-30-day timeframe. Predictors were help given to and received from SLH residents, 12-step attendees, and family/friends; outcomes included drinking days and alcohol problems. Analyses included hurdle and GEE models (both accounting for repeated measures) predicting outcomes from time-lagged helping measures and covariates. In controlled models, more help given in all three contexts and help received in 12-step and family/friends contexts predicted lower odds of alcohol use, while greater family/friends help given predicted fewer drinking days among drinkers. Greater help received in both SLH and 12-step contexts predicted lower odds of alcohol problems. In sum, help both given and received predicted better alcohol outcomes, and helping in all three contexts appeared to be beneficial. Implications are that SLH operators and other service providers might foster helping in recovery-related and other contexts to improve outcomes.

Lonnie R. Snowden's arrival to the UC Berkeley campus in the 1970s led not only to a stellar career that influenced multiple fields but also to the launching of hundreds of scholars who benefited from his wisdom, mentorship, and humanity. I recount my own experiences with Professor Snowden.

Considering instances of police brutality against people experiencing homelessness (PEH) and subsequent calls for changes to policing, it is important to understand how police and PEH interact. However, this literature in the US context has not been synthesized. This review aims to summarize: (a) the extent to which PEH have contact with police; and the (b) nature and (c) outcomes of these interactions. A PRISMA-aligned scoping review identified relevant scholarly articles on empirical studies published in a recent 20-year period in the United States. After screening, 26 relevant articles were analyzed utilizing thematic analysis. Rates of contact were disproportionately high among PEH. Contact was often the result of code enforcement, racial profiling, or notification by housed people, and consisted of harassment and abuse towards PEH. Finally, proximal (i.e., move-along orders, citation, arrest) and distal (i.e., perpetuating homelessness, lack of service provision, conflict, distrust and avoidance of police, and stress) outcomes emerged.

The provision of residential and community-based services for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) has become increasingly important following the deinstitutionalization movement. Much of the existing research on supportive housing focuses on housing outcomes rather than exploring how the program helps its residents thrive in the broader community. This study draws upon data collected from 176 people with SMI residing in 16 supportive housing locations in Portland, Oregon. Analyses explore how housing staff support relates to residents' loneliness (interpersonal level), residential satisfaction (housing and neighborhood level), and sense of community (community level). Staff support was found to be related to lower levels of loneliness, higher residential satisfaction, and a higher sense of community. Self-determination was considered as a moderator to understand the role of residents' agency in the relationships between staff support and resident experiences. Self-determination moderated the relationship between staff support and residential satisfaction for those with moderate to low self-determination, but not for individuals with high self-determination. In contrast, staff support was associated with decreased loneliness and increased sense of community regardless of self-determination. This study has implications for policymakers, researchers, and interventionists, expanding upon the limited body of research on staff support and the experiences of residents in a supportive housing environment.

Resettled refugee families face elevated mental health risks, compounded by structural and cultural barriers. The Family Strengthening Intervention for Resettlement (FSIR), co-developed with resettled refugee communities, aims to improve family functioning and child mental health. This study evaluated FSI-R in Somali Bantu and Bhutanese communities in New England during COVID-19 using a Hybrid Type II Implementation-Effectiveness Trial guided by the EPIS framework.

This study analyzes the localization of a US-designed Social Innovation course in the UAE as a contested site of knowledge production rather than a straightforward curricular adaptation. Using reflexive thematic analysis of lesson plans and faculty reflections, we identified two themes: Curricular Containment and Cultural Substitution Without Epistemic Transformation. These demonstrate how localization efforts simplified content and replaced cultural references without embedding local epistemologies or challenging dominant frameworks. Rather than increasing relevance, these adaptations risked reinforcing the coloniality of knowledge and contributed to what we label symbolic epistemicide, the structural erasure of non-Western ways of knowing through institutional and curricular design. We argue that meaningful localization must go beyond surface-level representation to center Arab, Islamic, and Emirati knowledge systems through sustained collaboration with local scholars and communities. This requires rethinking pedagogy, authorship, and authority to foster more just, pluralistic approaches to curriculum development in transnational educational settings.

This study aims to examine the relationship between outdoor environmental quality, trust in neighbors, and social integration among residents of public rental housing in Seoul, South Korea. It also investigates how neighborly relationships moderate this association. The study uses data from the 2016-2021 Seoul Public Rental Housing Panel Survey (SPRHPS) and applies individual fixed effects models to examine how outdoor environmental quality affects trust in neighbors. It also explores the moderating role of dwelling type characterized by apartment and non-apartment (e.g., single detached house and multiunit housing). Poor outdoor environmental quality, characterized by low greenery, inadequate amenities, and unsafe conditions, was linked to diminished trust in neighbors. Interestingly, the negative impact of these outdoor conditions on neighborly trust was less pronounced among residents of apartments compared to those living in non-apartment settings. This trend was also observed in other outcomes, such as attitudes toward social integration. These findings highlight the importance of both physical environmental improvements and fostering social connections in public housing communities to enhance social trust and overall well-being.

Felony re-enfranchisement efforts have expanded voting rights of formerly incarcerated people (FIP) across 26 states. Despite progress, research demonstrates low voter turnout and civic participation among this structurally marginalized population. We conducted a community-based participatory research project, rooted in the framework of critical consciousness, to understand how FIP experience voting. We conducted five semi-structured focus groups with 32 FIP; the majority of people were of color (85%). We find FIP articulate a nuanced, structural analysis of the injustices they face at the intersection of numerous public-serving systems, including the legal and electoral systems. Notably, they are not apathetic toward voting or civic participation. Rather, we note manufactured ambivalence as an emotional response stemming from their critical reflection-that is, while they simultaneously articulate that their needs will not be met by the system and things do not change, they are also attuned to how powerful actors, particularly politicians, make decisions impacting their lives. Despite gaps in civic education due to community disinvestment, FIP express a strong desire for building both individual and collective efficacy to address oppression. We generate key components that future initiatives should consider for promoting civics education, voting, and building political power with FIP.

Mobile technologies have become significant resources for crisis communication and social support in recent years. However, despite empirical evidence pointing to the centrality of these technologies for parenthood in everyday life, it is yet unknown how parents' coping resources play a role in the digital environment. In this study, we examined how parents cope with prolonged political violence online, based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory and the three levels of coping it encompasses: personal, family, and community. We employed a photo-elicitation technique during in-depth interviews with 21 parents residing in communities near the Israel-Gaza border, to identify digital coping strategies in WhatsApp groups. The data were collected in January 2023, prior to the outbreak of the October 7th Israel-Gaza war, and therefore reflect coping processes during a period that alternated between relative calm and episodes of escalation. Theoretically, our findings contribute to expanding the core concepts of coping theories, traditionally studied in offline environments, to the digital realm. Empirically, our analysis revealed that participants developed digital coping methods at two ecological levels: personal and community. At the personal level, our participants used local WhatsApp parent groups (WPGs) to manage stress by exchanging emotional and instrumental support and venting emotions. At the community level, our participants indicated that local WPGs could help address emergencies collectively through the provision of instrumental support, emotional support, relief through humor, and as a platform for venting. Our study, by identifying how they use local digital settings, indicates the ways residents can potentially increase their personal and community resilience.

Social isolation has reached concerning rates, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social integration is critical to combatting social isolation and loneliness by promoting a sense of community and belonging. Yet, most existing research centers on fostering close personal relationships within family and friend networks. Social integration within the neighborhood context (e.g., chatting with neighbors, participating in local organizations) is another tool that can be used to combat loneliness, but less is known about the process of social integration for residents situated in different sociodemographic groups. The current study examines variability in the process of neighborhood social integration across sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., social role, racial-ethnic identity, and housing tenure). Thematic analyses were conducted on semi-structured interviews with 29 residents of Wards 4 and 5 of Washington, D.C. Results suggested that relative to caregivers and community leaders, youth reported fewer opportunities for neighborhood social integration; frequently noted barriers were lack of shared identity, the transient nature of D.C., and school location. Despite sociodemographic heterogeneity in facilitators and barriers to neighborhood social integration, many residents called for more community programming and 'third places' to facilitate neighborhood connections.

Well-implemented social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are associated with positive student outcomes. Through CalHOPE, County Office of Education (COE) leaders are providing implementation support to districts and schools seeking to improve SEL delivery statewide. CalHOPE uses the SHIFT model to guide the regional implementation of systemic and equity-oriented SEL. This study assesses the conceptually driven conditions among COEs for providing implementation support, including adult well-being, workplace climate, and levers of transformation (forging partnerships within and outside of the organization, providing support through funding, training, coaching, and tools, and building capacity of leaders in the form of mindsets, knowledge, skills, and efficacy, to improve the structures and routines of SEL implementation-such as having a vision, SEL leadership team, data systems, and goals/plans). Ninety-seven COE SEL leaders participating in CalHOPE reported on their conditions and activities. COE SEL leaders reported positive well-being, workplace climate, and levers of transformation. Having a greater variety of partnerships was significantly associated with a stronger presence of all levers. Findings advance our understanding of the scaling up realities of SEL implementation in a statewide effort and highlight the value of partnerships in advancing SEL implementation.

Social support has long been recognized as an individual and community resource that can reduce stress and promote well-being, both in everyday life and after traumatic events. This study sought to explore the impact of two types of social support-social integration and perceived emotional support-on sexual assault survivors' longitudinal experiences of posttraumatic stress. We built on a previously conducted latent transition analysis to identify whether social integration and perceived emotional support predicted membership in each latent class, in addition to whether varied levels of support predicted transitions between latent classes over 1 year. Based on responses from a community sample of sexual assault survivors in an urban area of the midwestern United States, we found that while both types of social support predicted latent class membership, the impact of each type of support varied between latent classes, such that social integration and perceived emotional support were differently impactful depending on one's experience of posttraumatic stress. Findings contribute to the ongoing discussion of social support as a vital community resource and suggest circumstances in which social integration and perceived emotional support may each be especially useful in reducing distress and promoting health.

We explored the perceived barriers and facilitators faced by leaders when initiating self-help groups (SHGs) for emotional well-being using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design that combined focus groups and an online survey. Leaders, educators, and technicians from supportive organizations participated in four focus groups (n = 22), and 46% (n = 30) of trainees from SHGs leadership training courses completed the survey. Thematic analysis of qualitative data, combined with descriptive and textual analyses of survey responses, revealed two overarching themes: learning to lead and leading in practice. Early success of SHGs was linked to leaders' self-motivation and targeted leadership training. Facilitators included shared task distribution, horizontal relationships, and active dialogue facilitated leadership, while barriers comprised perceived role overload and logistical burdens. Survey findings reinforced the importance of co-responsibility, key training elements, and external support, including meeting spaces, integration, and publicity. These results suggest that initiating and maintaining mutual SHGs for emotional well-being may require recognizing the central role of leaders. Targeted training, professional accompaniment, and a stable community network are essential supports.

Suicide is a pressing issue for many, though far from all, Native American (Native) communities. Although there is significant mental health research on suicide among Native people, community authorities and scientific studies have questioned its relevance for any particular Native community. To examine its relevance, we conducted a systematic review of how Indigeneity and suicide were represented in mental health research on suicidal thoughts and behaviors among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) published 2010-2020. Following guidance by Siddaway and colleagues (2019), seven databases were searched for publications focused on AI/AN suicide, yielding 937 citations; 240 full-text articles were screened for inclusion, and 72 articles were included in this review. These data capture trends in the mental health literature that homogenize Native peoples through the terms used and generalizations made, that racialize Native peoples as an ethnoracial minority group within the U.S., and that pathologize Native peoples by emphasizing health risks and vulnerabilities to the exclusion of Native strengths, resources, and resistance. This literature offered a distorted reflection of Native peoples and their experiences related to suicide, undercutting its potential relevance for Native communities. Recommendations for future research and guidance for Native community leaders are provided.

Sociopolitical development (SPD)-that is, "the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, analytical skills, emotional faculties, and the capacity for action in political and social systems necessary to interpret and resist oppression" (Watts et al., 2003, p. 185)-allows young people to engage in their communities in ways that promote justice and collective wellbeing. Participation in supportive adult-child relationships is theoretically and empirically linked to SPD. However, additional research is needed to investigate the mechanisms through which these relationships support SPD, especially during the understudied developmental period of middle childhood (ages 7-11). This paper presents a theoretical literature review with the goal of consolidating existing evidence about SPD and the social and relational forces that shape it during middle childhood. It also expands on the theory of SPD by proposing the related concept of sociopolitical socialization (SPS), which describes the kinds of socialization between young people and their relational partners that promote SPD, and by highlighting imagination as a previously implicit component of SPD with particular significance for middle childhood.

We explored community-based doulas' perspectives on the acceptability of using formal screening tools to address low rates of mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment for perinatal anxiety and depression among Black women. Using thematic analysis, we analyzed interview data from 30 community-based doulas who support Black families during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Approximately 57% of community-based doulas supported mental health screening; 23% opposed, and 20% were unsure of whether or not to screen. Four themes emerged from participants' responses, including (1) rethinking screening approaches and procedures; (2) cultural and contextual screening; (3) community-based doula roles; and (4) client mistrust of mental health questionnaires. Additionally, there were four themes that highlighted community-based doulas' perspectives of how they might advocate for this population, including (1) bridge to mental health; (2) identification and normalization of symptoms; (3) systemic issues; and (4) mental health specialization. Partnering with trusted community-based doulas might improve perinatal mental health screening and prevention efforts for Black women experiencing perinatal anxiety and depression.

This paper introduces the term "Black-bodied" as an offering and to guide a self-reflection account of the praxis of community psychology upon receiving the 2023 award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice in Community Psychology from Division 27. This paper aims to shift the field of community psychology through a personal account of witnessing patterns of Black-bodied resistance, healing, and love in research and what it means to embrace these practices to reimagine the practice of community psychology in communities that have been racially marginalized and minoritized. This self-reflective account shares patterns of resistance, healing, and love in community-driven research and the implications of those patterns on self and communal transformation. The authors shares how the field of community psychology can do research differently.

This qualitative study explores how Indigenous, racialized, and Global South practitioners and scholars engage in liberatory praxis, drawing on decolonial theory and critical psychologies, to reimagine community wellbeing and mental health (CWMH) beyond Western-based psychological frameworks. The study addresses the need for culturally relevant, reflective, and justice-oriented approaches that center relational care and collective healing. Using purposive sampling, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 participants (7 women, 4 men) across Lebanon, Palestine, South Africa, the United States, Australia, India, and Indonesia. Using thematic analysis, I identified six key themes: (1) integrate experiential, reflexive, and community-based knowledge; (2) critique the harms of modernity/coloniality in psychology frameworks; (3) use counterstorytelling to resist dominant narratives; (4) engage in personal and collective healing, unlearning, and liberation; (5) approach praxis as a nonlinear and evolving process; and (6) challenge academic and professional spaces and discuss creating alternative collectives in these spaces. These insights demonstrate the limitations of Western psychological models and affirm the importance of culturally relevant and liberatory praxis in CWMH. In response to this study, emerging collectives have formed in Canada, Lebanon, and the United States to extend these practices through shared praxis, mutual care, and community-based application.

Black women face a myriad of challenges that heighten their susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), resulting in a disproportionate impact of STIs among this population. Yet, there is a lack of research that explores how women navigate these diagnoses with resilience. Instead, much of the prevention research on Black women's sexual health and wellness reflects a deficit orientation and focuses on risk. In the current study, we adopt a strengths-based approach and use narrative inquiry methodology to identify mechanisms of resilience that support Black women in navigating the social and emotional challenges following an STI diagnosis. Narrative analysis of interviews with 16 Black women who have been diagnosed with an STI at least once in their lifetimes revealed three storylines about mechanisms of resilience that helped them resolve the impact of the diagnosis: (1) support from other women, (2) openness to intragenerational learning and teaching, and (3) self-love and transformative growth. By understanding how women navigate STI diagnoses, researchers and practitioners can move beyond risk-focused interventions for Black women and toward those that capitalize on their assets and strengths.

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) has been effectively used for substance use prevention. Yet, YPAR has not been evaluated for opioids, which negatively impact individuals and communities across the United States. The current study evaluated an opioid-focused YPAR project. YPAR participants (n = 28) completed a pre- and post-survey capturing psychological empowerment and opioid knowledge and behavior. A non-YPAR comparison group (n = 18) provided post-survey data. Mean comparisons were conducted to identify changes among participants and between intervention and comparison groups. YPAR participants demonstrated increased psychological empowerment and opioid knowledge and behaviors. In contrast to the comparison group, YPAR participants reported increased psychological empowerment and opioid knowledge, but not behaviors. Evaluation of this opioid-focused YPAR project indicated positive outcomes. Findings expand research on YPAR effectiveness for substance use prevention. Engaging youth is an effective approach for individual and community change and a promising strategy to address the opioid epidemic.

This paper describes a 3-year community-partnered research initiative focused on advancing early reading, racial equity, and relationships-collectively known as the 3Rs Initiative. The project brought together researchers and community members committed to ensuring that all adults in the county embody a shared "3Rs mindset" to better support literacy development for children in kindergarten through third grade. In Study 1, researchers and community members (The 3Rs team) used thematic analysis of interviews, meeting notes, and group activity and discussion artifacts with community stakeholders to construct and validate a definition of a 3Rs mindset. In Study 2, the 3Rs team created a 36-item scale that could assess an adult's 3Rs mindset. The scale demonstrated excellent content validity, response process, and associative validity. Findings from both studies suggest that community-partnered measure development can be achieved through collaboration, honoring of multiple perspectives, and elevating community partners as "experiential experts" (El Mallah, 2024, p. 984). Measures resulting from such processes have the benefit of community-defined cultural specificity and strong content validity and can be leveraged towards social change.