Caring Communities Oral History
The accomplishments of Caring Communities were studied, and written about in educational publications, children welfare journals, juvenile justice white papers, countless books, print and digital media. Many scholars, educators, community activists, students and social service practitioners are still interested in learning about Caring Communities and its comprehensive approach for serving high-risk children, families, and neighborhoods. It is our desire to provide access to many of these resources and materials via digital, archival, video recordings and the construction of a new Caring Communities website. This project will be called the Caring Communities Oral History Project. The three (3) goals of the Oral History Project are:
Goal #1: Create an aesthetically appealing and pleasing website that accurately portrays the spirit, energy, and victories of Caring Communities.
Goal #2: As a model of systems change and reform, chronicle history.
of Caring Communities milestones and successes and create an online repository of archive articles, photos, briefings, booklets, videos, lessons learned.
Goal #3: Establish a “members only” network on the website to connect former Caring Communities students, teachers, providers, community leaders, etc.
Screenshot of Blog on the CCP Website
CCP Website
A colorful website in a portfolio-style format will be designed to reflect Caring Communities’ history, milestones, advancements, challenges and historical milestones. It will have a members only section to encourage supporters/staff to engage, connect/reconnect virtually. Authentic briefs, news clippings, books, studies will be displayed on the site for researchers, students and policy makers interested in "lessons learned" about Caring Communities.
William "Bill" Dent, Director of FACT talks about the state partnership and CCP
Oral History Interviews
The Oral History interviews captures the stories, experiences, perceptions of key former WCCP funders, residents, former staff, stakeholders, and partners who helped make Caring Communities a success. The engaging conversations were captured by Emmy-award winning Television Host and Producer Jade Harrell, Rare Gem Productions. Harrell worked with ARCHS to interview and record the individuals.
Denise Carter was one of many volunteers to organize and sort records of CCP for digitization
Digitization of Records
Caring Communities started in 1989 at Walbridge School. The accomplishments were studied and written in several publications and journals over the years. A host of students, researchers and teachers have expressed interests in learning more about Caring Communities. This led to the digitization and placement of records in the State Historic Society.