Community Partners
A critical element of the program is creating reciprocal relationships with agencies in the community. Sarah Lawrence develops partnerships at an institutional level with community agencies and others involved in social change because social change requires engagement not only of individuals, but also of institutions. Here are some examples of Sarah Lawrence's community partners:
- Highbridge Community Life Center, South Bronx
Highbridge is comprehensive community-based organization providing community support services, economic development, empowerment training, youth services, adult education and family services. Sarah Lawrence students primarily provide youth services in the form of tutoring and teaching.
- Right-to-Write Program, Valhalla Correctional Facility
The Right-to-Write Program provides our students with the opportunity to team-teach writing workshops in the Women's Unit of Valhalla Correctional Facility. These weekly workshops focus primarily on creative writing and on creating an environment that empowers the women inmates to explore and express their feelings. Sarah Lawrence also provides faculty and/or contributes financially to providing college level classes to inmates at Bedford prison.
- Incarnation Children's Center, NYC
Incarnation provides health care and a community setting for special need children born with AIDS. Students assist in caring for and tutoring children born with HIV/AIDS.
- Urban Justice Center, NYC
The Urban Justice Center provides legal assistance to the poor in matters of housing, government benefits, and disability. The Center also undertakes groundbreaking research in law and social welfare policy and develops advocacy strategies to bring about systemic change. In New York City, the Urban Justice Center works with a coalition of church groups, labor unions, and concerned citizens in opposition to the "Work Experience Programs", or Workfare. Sarah Lawrence students have worked outside of welfare offices, interviewing participants about the conditions they experience in the current welfare system in order to assure their rights and provide research data.
