UNC Asheville “Facing Project” to examine community issue of affordable housing

From UNC Asheville:

UNC Asheville “Facing Project” to Examine Community Issue of Affordable Housing

UNC Asheville will be one of five colleges and universities in North Carolina to carry out a “facing project” beginning this fall, examining a community issue through the collection and sharing of individual stories.

UNC Asheville’s project will “face” the issue of affordable housing in the community. A national nonprofit called the Facing Project facilitates and supports these community-building efforts.

The Facing Project approach shares the stories of local people through the talent of writers and actors. Writers interview community members who are facing the issue and capture their stories in the first-person. The accounts are then compiled as a book and brought to life on stage through a community theatre event.

UNC Asheville and other participating North Carolina schools are all members of North Carolina Campus Compact, a coalition of 36 public and private colleges and universities dedicated to improving community life and educating students for civic responsibility. Chancellor Mary K. Grant is vice-chair of the national Campus Compact organization’s board of directors.

The Compact partnered with the Facing Project to select the five North Carolina schools through a competitive application process. Other participating campuses with projects launching this fall are Guilford College, UNC Wilmington, Winston-Salem State University, and Western Piedmont Community College. Schools chose a topic relevant to their local community, and preference was given to campuses that looked to focus on issues related to poverty or diversity.

Selected institutions receive a resource package including “The Facing Project Toolkit,” a 70-page guide with sample projects, consent forms and other materials. Participating schools also receive web hosting to display the project, training for campus writers and website content managers, and expert consultation with a Facing Project coach and editing team.

The Facing Project was co-founded by Indiana Campus Compact Executive Director J.R. Jamison, along with author Kelsey Timmerman. Since its founding in 2012, The Facing Project has previously worked with 30 communities in eight states and two countries and has been hailed by The Huffington Post as one of three oral history projects to watch. The new projects beginning this fall will bring the Facing Project to 70 new communities.

SHARE
About Dan Hesse
I grew up outside of Atlanta and moved to WNC in 2001 to attend Montreat College. After college, I worked at NewsRadio 570 WWNC as an anchor/reporter and covered Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners starting in 2004. During that time I also completed WCU's Master of Public Administration program. You can reach me at dhesse@mountainx.com.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.