Shelter & Nature

• Faiza SAEEDI, Public Policy, University of Delaware

• Erin Nescott, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware

As a fellow in the Summer Undergraduate Boyden School Fellowship Program, I conducted applied policy research through the University of Delaware’s Center for Community Research & Service (CCRS), contributing to two projects that addressed systemic issues in housing and environmental equity. The first project, titled Analysis of Delaware’s Youth Homelessness Landscape, examined how differing federal definitions of homelessness—those from HUD, McKinney-Vento, and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act—affect which young people are recognized in data systems and which are eligible for services. I created visual comparisons to show how these definitions shape youth access to shelter and resources, and contributed to an analysis comparing data collected by the Wilmington Equity and Housing Network (WEHN) with a nationally informed survey tool developed by Chapin Hall and YouthReach Maryland. To deepen the project’s policy relevance, I authored a brief synthesizing literature on LGBTQ+ youth homelessness and its intersection with substance use, emphasizing the importance of inclusive, preventive approaches. The second project focused on assessing the social impacts of brownfield redevelopment in Delaware, in collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). I helped develop community surveys and stakeholder interview guides, and worked with my team to analyze ten years of quantitative data on environmental cleanup. We translated this data into visualizations that illustrated the relationship between site remediation and changes in public safety, property investment, and neighborhood well-being. Both projects relied on a mixed methods (MIS) approach, combining statistical analysis with qualitative insights from community members to better understand how policy translates into lived experience. This fellowship strengthened my skills in research design, policy communication, and data visualization, while giving me a deeper understanding of how structural definitions and environmental conditions impact people’s access to safety, shelter, and opportunity across different systems and communities.