Browsing by Author "Merritt, Breanca"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
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    Black death rates from COVID-19 in Marion County (2020)
    (Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy at IU, 2020-04) Merritt, Breanca
    COVID-19 has resulted in a disproportionate number of deaths among black, Hispanic/Latinx, and indigenous Americans across the nation. Where data is available for various states and cities, these groups consistently experience worse outcomes. This trend holds true for Indiana’s black residents. On April 13, 2020, the Indiana State Department of Health began including racial/ethnic demographics of diagnosed cases and deaths in its online dashboard. On that date, black Hoosiers comprised about 10 percent of Indiana’s population, but 20 percent of COVID-19 deaths. This brief looks beyond differences in racial health disparities to understand the structural and social sources for these trends.
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    Eviction trends in Marion County (2010-2016)
    (Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy at IU, 2019-05) Merritt, Breanca; Stringham-Marquis, Kelsie; Camacho-Reyes, Karla; Gibson, Krystal
    Indianapolis ranks 14th in eviction rates among large U.S. cities for which data is available. An eviction is when a tenant is removed from a landlord’s property, either through the court system (formal) or outside of the court system (informal). Evictions and forced relocation can lead to housing instability and homelessness for families and individuals, as well as a loss of community resources, such as neighborhood connections and transportation. Indiana has several state laws and local ordinances governing evictions and landlord-tenant relationships. However, Indiana remains one of eight states that does not protect tenants against landlord retaliation. Indiana evictions occur at the township level, adding another layer of jurisdiction for this process. Given the complexity and implications of the eviction process, this report uses research conducted in partnership with the Coalition for Homelessness and Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) to examine what eviction-related trends exist in Marion County.
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    Homeownership & home values among Black neighborhoods in Marion County (2018)
    (2020-02) Merritt, Breanca; Peña, Rachell; Bow, Brendan; Purcell, Jacob; Camacho-Reyes, Karla; Yang, Elle
    A 2018 report from the Brookings Institute found that homes in majority-black neighborhoods in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metro area were valued at $18,000 less than those in similar—yet not predominately black—neighborhoods. This follows a national trend in which homes in black neighborhoods were undervalued by $48,000 on average. In fact, in 117 of the 119 metro areas included in the Brookings report, a home in a majority-black neighborhood was valued less than those in other neighborhoods. These areas also are more likely to be more segregated and provide fewer upward mobility opportunities for black residents. This brief examines trends in black homeownership specifically for Marion County.
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    Housing instability in Marion County: evictions before & during COVID-19
    (Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy, 2021-02) Martyn, Kevin; Camacho-Reyes, Karla; Merritt, Breanca; Stringham-Marquis, Kelsie
    The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted housing instability as a major public health issue. Some of the primary measures used to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as shelter-in-place orders and physical distancing requirements, depend upon having access to private spaces and—in particular—safe and stable housing. Meanwhile, a recent estimate from New America found that more than 5 million people in the United States experience eviction or foreclosure each year. While federal and state measures have offered some relief to residents, there is still a predicted wave of evictions on the horizon, especially for those not living in federally funded housing. With an eye to the predicted wave of evictions, this brief examines the recent history of evictions in Marion County, Indiana. We provide a baseline assessment of the pre-pandemic status quo of evictions, as well as an assessment of the gaps in data and their implications for how trends in evictions are interpreted locally.
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    Immigration policy & COVID-19 (2020)
    (Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy at IU, 2020-07) Lawrence, Roxy; Yang, Elle; Merritt, Breanca
    On February 24, 2020, Congress passed the Public Charge Grounds Inadmissibility legislation, also known as the public charge rule. The rule allows the federal government to determine whether a person is likely to become a public charge—a noncitizen who receives public benefits for the total of any 12 months during a 36-month period. These benefits include cash assistance that supplements individual or household income, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), among other sources. Adopting the public charge rule a month before the COVID-19 pandemic began may have compromised the collective health and economic security of immigrant populations already living in the U.S. and Indiana. Executive orders have also closed nonessential businesses that disproportionately hire immigrants. Therefore, this brief examines the initial implications of the public charge rule on low-income immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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    Indiana's Black Death Rates from COVID-19, Institutional Sources of Disparity
    (Center for Research on Inclusion & Social Policy (CRISP), IU Public Policy Institute, 2020-04) Merritt, Breanca; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    COVID-19 has resulted in a disproportionate number of deaths among black, Hispanic/Latinx, and indigenous Americans across the nation. Where data is available for various states and cities, these groups consistently experience worse outcomes. This trend holds true for Indiana’s black residents. On April 13, 2020, the Indiana State Department of Health began including racial/ethnic demographics of diagnosed cases and deaths in its online dashboard. On that date, black Hoosiers comprised about 10 percent of Indiana’s population, but 20 percent of COVID-19 deaths. This brief looks beyond differences in racial health disparities to understand the structural and social sources for these trends.
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    A Model for Crafting Diversity, Inclusion, Respect, and Equity (DIRE) Policy Statements Toward Catalyzing Organizational Change
    (American Chemical Society, 2021-03-24) Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn; Merritt, Breanca; Kimble-Hill, Ann C.; School of Social Work
    We present a model for STEM organizations to write catalytic diversity, inclusion, respect, and equity (DIRE) policy statements as structured steps for sustained action.
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    Rental trends in Marion County (2012–2017)
    (Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy at IU, 2019-10) Merritt, Breanca; Camacho-Reyes, Karla; Yang, Elle; Stringham-Marquis, Kelsie
    The availability of affordable housing is a predictor of homelessness, especially among renters. Increasing the availability and quality of affordable housing—particularly rentals—is a common strategy to prevent housing instability and eviction. In Marion County, 46 percent of households are renter-occupied—higher than both the state (31 percent) and national rates (36 percent). Given the relatively large renter population in Marion County, this brief examines two trends related to housing instability among renters—rent burden and stagnant income—and how those trends may be informed by other issues.
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    Representation through Lived Experience: Expanding Representative Bureaucracy Theory
    (Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 2020) Merritt, Cullen C.; Farnworth, Morgan D.; Kennedy, Sheila Suess; Abner, Gordon; Wright II, James E.; Merritt, Breanca
    This study draws on the insights of managers in the behavioral health treatment system to explore the value of persons who bring lived experience to their organizational positions. Within these organizations, persons with relevant lived experience occupy various nonclinical and clinical positions. When facilities incorporate workers with lived experience, managers observe increased levels of trust between clients and service providers, an enhanced client-centered perspective among service providers, and higher quality in the services provided. This study may guide managers in considering how (or whether) human service organizations might institutionalize lived experience as a mechanism to help create a representative bureaucracy.
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    Substance abuse, mental health, & crime on Indianapolis’ Near Eastside
    (2020-08) Bowling, Elizabeth; Purcell, Jacob; Lawrence, Roxy; Stringham-Marquis, Kelsie; Merritt, Breanca; Martyn, Kevin
    CRISP partnered with the John Boner Neighborhood Centers to identify core drivers of crime in a study area on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis. The study area has higher incidents of overall, property, and violent crime compared to the rest of the city. This brief explores the association between drug use, mental health disorders, and crime in the CBCR area.