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About Us/Our Mission The Faith Communities and Urban Families Project is a research initiative based at the Leadership Center at Morehouse College. The Project, originally funded by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has been concerned with the social, religious, community-building, and public policy impacts of faith institution presence and involvements within high-poverty neighborhoods. The initial project work focused on four U.S. cities: Camden,
NJ, Denver, CO, Hartford, CT, and Indianapolis, IN. In each of
the four cities, two high-poverty neighborhoods were identified
where the research team: (1) gathered survey, ethnographic, and
environmental data from 1,200 low-income housing residents and
150 adjacent faith-based institutions; (2) utilized the research
findings as a basis for roundtable dialogues between a small
number of housing complex residents and faith institution leaders;
and (3) facilitated concrete action plans for strengthening interactions
between faith communities and the urban poor. The project has also had a research focus on faith institutions in neighborhoods in Southern Africa and Western Europe where there are significant numbers of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and where rapid economic and other demographic shifts are occurring. In South Africa, the project has completed a study of an inner-city Pretoria neighborhood, gathering survey data from 1,000 congregants affiliated with nine of the primary congregations within the neighborhood and interviewing the pastors and additional religious leaders from these congregations. Conversations are currently taking place with potential research partners in Western Europe about collaborations on similar research within a few Western European cities. |