Project

Community Advisory, Resource, and Education (CARE) Centers

About CARE

The Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) are partnering to launch Community Advisory, Resource and Education (CARE) Centers in Michigan and Georgia. Modeled after the German mobile advisory units, CARE Centers will provide on-site trainings, support and resources to those impacted by hate, discrimination and supremacist ideologies, as well as target groups susceptible to radicalization.

By creating local networks of practitioners and community experts, CARE Centers aim to identify specific community needs and will use a public health approach that prioritizes their well-being and resiliency to address harms caused by those holding extremist ideologies.

Community Advisory Resource & Education logo with partners

Approach And Goals

To prevent extremist radicalization and political and hate-fueled violence, while equipping communities with tools, skills, and services to:

  1.  Support historically targeted and marginalized communities that continue to be harmed by extremism and political violence.
  2.  Prevent those susceptible to extremist radicalization from radicalizing. 

 

Learn more about CARE’s Approach and Goals

Who is CARE for?

CARE Centers are for local community members and practitioners who want to support those impacted by hate, discrimination, and supremacist ideologies as well as those susceptible to radicalization within the region.

CARE Centers aim to be inclusive of the entire community and provide community members with avenues for action and support. We will collaborate with family members, caregivers, employers, educators, policymakers, mental health service providers, social service agencies and support organizations, community organizing and advocacy groups, and local and state-level government departments and agencies.

How will CARE strive for accessible, inclusive interventions?

  • CARE Centers will focus on improving responses to support victim-survivors of hate, not just providing guidance for responding to acts of targeted violence.

  • Our services and resources are free and will be rooted in community expertise and needs.

  • We will engage community members to develop tools and services that meet local needs and to ensure communities are not inadvertently harmed when working to prevent extremism.

  • CARE Centers will not advocate for solutions that involve incarceration, monitoring, surveillance, censorship, or any other security-based approach.

  • PERIL recognizes the harm done to marginalized communities who have been targeted by counterterrorism efforts in the United States. Our community-centered and victim-survivor-focused approach is informed by this reality, and we aim to safeguard and enrich the well-being of all community members.

How will CARE Centers support you and your community?

1

Equip communities with the tools to recognize warning signs of supremacist radicalization and
effectively intervene.

2

Create transparent and accessible workshops, trainings, guidelines, and other resources for community members, educators, mental health practitioners, and policymakers.

3

Design interventions that help communities prevent supremacist violence using ethically-vetted rigorous research methods including statistical pre- and post-testing, ethnographic observation, interviews, and focus groups.

4

Utilize insights learned from community-rooted, evidence-informed interventions to better guide policy recommendations while working with localized networks to deliver such recommendations

Values

Accountability:

We hold ourselves accountable for our actions, outcomes, and impact by openly sharing successes and failures and seeking feedback from the community. We operate with the understanding of the power dynamics in place, recognize the privilege that comes with the connections and resources we have access to, and are mindful of how these dynamics inform our operations.

Transparency:

We are open and transparent about our program’s intentions, goals, and impact with our community partners and members. We have clear boundaries regarding the extent of our work and the services that we are able to provide. 

Respect: 

Every individual we serve is treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their beliefs and background. Protecting the wellbeing and safety of each individual who participates in CARE Center activities is of the utmost importance. 

Integrity:

We hold ourselves to high ethical standards and remain true to our mission when engaging in this work on the ground. We build community by acting with mutual trust and respect and staying true to our mission of uplifting and supporting the community. 

Community Advocacy:

CARE Centers are meant to be for and by the community. As we work in local environments we recognize that the community knows what is best for its advancement, and we work to advance and strengthen their vision.

Grounding Principles

1

People-Centered: We act with the knowledge that people are at the center of our work. Throughout our operations, our priorities are protecting the community’s best interests, increasing accessibility to resources, and speedy delivery of CARE services.

2

Evidence-Based: Strategies and knowledge shared with the community on recognizing and preventing radicalization are tested through rigorous research. The efficacy of these strategies can be found in the impact reports here

3

Capacity-Building: Our goal is to equip communities with the tools to address radicalization in their social environments. We intend to collaborate with the community when providing resources and support to sustain progress made in creating healthier and more socially cohesive societies. 

CARE’s Ethics, Data and Analysis Methodology

CARE Ethics Guidelines

CARE Data Protection Policy

CARE Data Collection & Analysis Methods

Resources

Building Resilience & Confronting Risk: A Parents & Caregivers Guide to Online Radicalization

Report

Parents and Caregivers Guide

  • A guide for parents, caregivers, and anyone who lives or works with youth that equips them with tools to address radicalization.

  • Understand the drivers of radicalization, and how/why extremists strategically target youth for exploitation.

  • Learn to recognize and respond to extremist propaganda and radicalization warning signs.

The Peacemaker’s Toolkit

Publication

Peacemakers Toolkit

  • A guide to peacemaking and building community resilience, designed for faith leaders who are concerned about radicalization within their communities of worship.

  • The “what” of peacemaking: defining peace within your community and frameworks for taking action.

  • The “how” of peacemaking: example scenarios to help you visualize common dilemmas faced by peacemakers and ways to respond.

  • The “why” of peacemaking: origins, patterns, and challenges in building resilience and preventing radicalization.

Resource for Local Government Officials

Report

Resource for Government Officials

  • Designed to help government officials address radicalization and extremism.

  • Why local governments and politicians are targets, how to prepare for a political event with the potential for the presence of bad actors, and how to assess the seriousness of a threat.

  • How to respond to disruptions, harassment, or threats, and what to do in the aftermath.

Resource for Workers & Local Business Owners

Report

Resource for Workers and Local Business Owners

  • Designed for dealing with extremism at work. Addressing situations in which violent extremists speak out or plan to conduct activities inside places of business.

  • Common ways extremists use local businesses to further their agenda, and actions you can take to limit their patronage.

  • Contracts and terms to include in them.

Resource for Activists, Organizers & Everyday Life

Report

Resource for Activists, Organizers, and Everyday Life

  • Designed for people participating in political activism to stay safe, and for people who want to stand up to extremists encountered in everyday life.

  • Helpful preparations for events, how extremists typically engage with activists, and how to respond safely.

  • Civic courage in everyday life – speaking up, helping people and reacting to extremism. Examples of how to respond in difficult situations, and red flags for extremist thinking.

Building Networks & Addressing Harm

Report

Building Networks & Addressing Harm: A Community Guide to Online Youth Radicalization

  • A guide that provides tools to trusted adults and community members to engage with young people who display warning signs and help them become less susceptible to radicalization.

  • Strategies used by extremists to recruit new members, as well as strategies for prevention and building community resilience.

  • Factors that affect susceptibility to radicalization, extremism warning signs, and how to respond to hateful rhetoric.
SHARE

Project

Community Advisory, Resource, and Education (CARE) Centers

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