Professor Tom Mould, along with Assistant Professor Aunchalee Palmquist, will be directing the ethnographic research component in a major study designed to assess the effectiveness of public assistance for low-income families in Guilford County.
As part of this project, Mould will be offering a service-learning course in the Fall 2015 to allow students to collaborate directly with aid recipients and service providers to address issues related to poverty and welfare in the local community. Elon students will be paired with families to learn more about what it’s like to be on public assistance, the challenges that they face, and the ways in which public assistance programs may or may not be effectively meeting their needs.
One of the main goals of the study is to identify pathways of resilience that enable families to gain greater financial self-sufficiency and long-term health and well-being.
This project is an extension of the “Voices of Welfare” project developed between Elon’s Program for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies program (PERCS) and community partners in Alamance County. Information about the Voices of Welfare project can be found online at: blogs.elon.edu/voicesofwelfare.