Members of the PC CARES Community Steering Committee met in late April for an introduction to the project, new team members, and a review of recent findings and curriculum revision.
L-R back row: CSC members Leanna “Bubbles” Isaac, Evelyn Day and Roberta Moto, University of Michigan sjtudy staff and PhD candidate Lauren White, CSC member Diane McEachern, Valarie Pingayak, and Munick Chappel. Front row, L-R: PC CARES research team members Angel Zhong, Lisa Wexler, Elizabeth Evans, and Tara Schmidt.
On the first day, Lisa provided an overview of PC CARES and its evolution, highlighting some of the benefits: PC CARES structure with the Rural Human Services program provides lots of support for facilitators and helps PC CARES continue to grow; Individuals who are trained gain the confidence to facilitate learning circles in their communities; Facilitators have the freedom to make culturally appropriate adjustments that fit with their community.
We talked about considerations when expanding PC CARES to new populations or subject areas, including potential opportunities and challenges. We reviews the expending project that are pending or currently in progress.
Thinking about bringing PC CARES to new audiences, we shared our “elevator pitch” with each other in a quick, fun activity.
Finally, we talked about how to approach Tribal Nations for permission to conduct research and how to jsupport RHS student then they embark on this process themselves. The important of relationship-building with tribal councils was discussed, and potential barriers RHS nmay encounter and antidotes to those barriers.
On the second day, we tried out some new activities in the learning circle that discusses grief and postvention (LC4). After participating in learning circle demonstration, the group talked about what we liked and how to improve it. Lauren shared an overview of the Focus Groups that took place with RHS Students after doing PC CARES learning circles as their practicum project in 2023-24. Finally, each CSC member and staff member wrote a question our statement based on the meeting. It could be a question for participants, research staff, other CSC members, or for yourself, to revisit a few times in the weeks and months after out time together.
Download a more detailed meeting summary here.