Communities of Hope
Civic Media

Engagement, Information, and Education for all

RAdical hope in action

We are a civic media outlet working to support local news by, of, and for our communities. We work together to heal and repair harm, restore and reclaim history, inform, educate, and engage to build better ways to live, and investigate solutions to local issues with the people who need them the most. we work to make the hope of our communities a reality.

RADICAL HOPE IN ACTION

We are a civic media outlet working to support local news by, of, and for our communities. We work together to heal and repair harm, restore and reclaim history, inform, educate, and engage to build better ways to live, and investigate solutions to local issues with the people who need them the most. we work to make the hope of our communities a reality.

OUR PROJECTS

The Hope Project: The Refugee Experience

The Refugee Experience documents the stories of refugees in the state of Rhode Island. Our journalists interview refugees and experts on the experiences and struggles of living in Rhode Island. The Documentary is at the final production stage and will be released in the fall of 2024.

The Hope Pod: "Path to Reparations"

Path to Reparations tells the story of urban redevelopment in the city of Providence. The redevelopment plans throughout the history of the city have torn apart communities of color in the neighborhoods of Fox Point, Lippitt Hill, West Elmwood and Upper South Providence. The stories of the families affected by displacement have been buried, this podcast aims to uncover them and share the truth of what has really happened in the city.

Providence Public Library showcases the history of the state with the Rhode Island Collections

The Providence Public Library’s Rhode Island Collections documents the centuries-old history from right after Roger Williams’ time in the state to the impacts of COVID-19 today.

ecoTalk podcast

ecoTalk is an environmental and climate justice podcast co-produced by Communities of Hope and EcoRI News. Hosted by Jack Aviles and Sam Elwell, EcoTalk is a discussion of Southern New England’s economy, ecology, and ecosystems. Each episode covers a different topic relating to environmental justice, sustainability, biology, and more.

Listen on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify!

Hope Lab

Hope Lab is a fellowship training program in which different cohorts, varying from school teachers to community members and media professionals, receive specialized training customized for their needs and goals. Our first cohort (2022-2023) was a year-long program directed at high school teachers, advisors, and mentors who were running or wanted to create a news organization for teen journalists. This cohort focused on how to teach the same skills, techniques, knowledge, and practices as we apply in Communities of Hope Civic Media, from data reporting and solutions journalism to how to manage a community-oriented newsroom for teens.

Future cohorts of Hope Lab may include local organizations looking to improve their professional training offerings, such as nonprofit organizations working with refugees, houseless, disabled people, retirees, K-college programs, incarcerated people, diaspora communities, and media professionals looking to improve their skills in reparatory, restorative (healing), solidarity, engagement, solutions, empowerment, and community-driven journalism (among others)i and improve their own quality of life by improving their communities with civic information, education, and engagement.

Hope Squad

The first iteration of Hope Squad was a pre-professional, year-long training program for K-12 students in new approaches, methods, and technologies in transformative journalism. During the 2022-2023 academic year, the first cohort of Hope Squad, with 18 students, met once a month on Zoom and during the SPJ Region 1 Summer Journalism Institute. During each meeting, students learned directly from a specialized professional and workshop their own stories.
The program has not been offered again since, but we hope to have a new version of Hope Squad in the future.

Trailer: The Refugee Experience

Transforming Roger

Transforming Roger is a training ground for transformative investigative journalists. Produced by RWU journalism students and staff, TRWU uses multimedia reporting to look at our institution’s past and current practices through a justice lens, so we can make RWU better for all our communities, inside and outside RWU.

OUR Services

Restorative Journalism & History, Community Needs Assessments, Information Needs Assessments, and Solutions Journalism

Civic Information, Education and Engagement

Community Conversations, Depolarization, and Conflict Deescalation

CoH_MET-internsMarcel and Jordan in Podcast Studio.jpg

Media production, training, fellowships, workshops, and webinars

NEWS

Eco Talk

Our journalists expanded on the work done by high school students as part of the Society of Professional Journalists' Northeast Summer Institute. Tune in to find out what PFAs are, why they're harmful, and what policymakers are doing to prevent contamination.

The Hope Project

Our team joined News II students at Roger Williams University to initiate an investigation into how specific communities are treated poorly, discriminated against, and neglected. The story, a compilation of research and hopes of finding help, delves into the issues amongst the Latino, LGBTQ+, formerly incarcerated, and other communities. Read about their treatment and the dire need for change in our article published in the Hawks' Herald.