The College of Idaho and Caldwell Housing Authority Collaborate to Offer Unique Internship to Students

The College’s High Impact Practices Division recently announced a new student research opportunity created in partnership with Sean Blackwell and Dr. Aaron Weiss from the Anthropology/ Sociology Department, and the Caldwell Housing Authority (CHA), a local organization that provides affordable housing to community members. Mike Dittenber, the director of CHA, along with Blackwell and Weiss hope to collaborate with students to shed light on the barriers faced by people aged 18-35 when attempting to access and maintain long-term residential stability. By Sadie Dittenber tion,” said Blackwell, “I think that orients me to seek the incisive, illuminating contributions students from across our college can make to this project.”

The project, which will last the entirety of the 2021-2022 school year, will be an immersive research project open to four undergraduate students at the C of I. Two of these positions are reserved for anthropology/sociology majors, but the other two are open to all majors. According to Blackwell, the creators of this project wanted to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of their work. “I am passionate about interdisciplinary knowledge construction and collabora-

tion,” said Blackwell, “I think that orients me to seek the incisive, illuminating contributions students from across our college can make to this project.”

Because the student researchers will be working with traditionally marginalized and underserved families, Blackwell and his team would particularly like to attract students with a knowledge of marginalization and a familiarity with underserved communities. Students will also be working with a majority Spanish-speaking population, so the team is seeking at least one Spanish- speaking student.

Students selected for this project will be expected to work approximately ten hours a week, and will be compensated with a $650 monthly stipend, as well as free rent in a four- bedroom apartment at CHA, which would normally amount to an average of about $1,156 a month. According to Blackwell, “our hope was and is to shape an endeavor in which Yotes are compensated for their time and energy whilst they learn from

and contribute to a local marginalized community.” Not only will students be compensated with free rent and monthly paychecks, but this opportunity also offers potential for official publication and sustained research.

Because CHA is the organized authority on housing in Caldwell, and is protected under state law, it is committed to being the expert on housing in the area. This leads to involvement in local politics, economics, activism, and housing innovation. CHA’s director, Mike Dittenber, is always seeking to explore new housing opportunities to create a safe and equitable community. Students selected for this opportunity would work alongside Dittenber to explore new options and develop new housing strategies.

“I hope [students’] work can both amplify CHA community members’ voices and offer concrete solutions and action to improve their affordable housing access” said Blackwell, “the ultimate final product would be a concrete action plan for universal housing justice.”

Applications for this unique research opportunity were due to hip@collegeofidaho.edu on Monday, May 31st. Anyone seeking more information about this internship should contact Sean Blackwell at sblackwell@collegeofidaho.edu, Aaron Weiss at aweiss@collegeofidaho.edu, or Latonia Haney Keith at lhaneykeith@collegeofidaho.edu.