PhotoVoice is another strategy for nurturing resident leadership as residents employ visual media to advocate on their behalf. TCWFI’s Community Building Program (CBP) hosts regular PhotoVoice trainings in which residents are taught to use photography as an analytical lens for documenting the strengths and challenges in their community in order to advocate for change. To date, themes such as health issues, vacant housing and general/construction debris have emerged in the images. PhotoVoice participants are working with NPU-V’s Neighborhood Data Advisory Group, a group of residents and community stakeholders who prepared Neighborhoods Count: A Look at NPU-V 2004, to help them amass data that apply to the images’ themes and to develop a measurement tool to deepen the group’s analysis.

To assist the residents in using the images as an advocacy tool, CBP has recruited a Guidance Committee comprised of leaders of area community based organizations and elected and appointed leaders who will serve as a conduit between the residents and the larger policy and media community. This social networking strategy leverages the support of community stakeholders to help residents achieve their vision for the neighborhoods in partnership with policymakers and media outlets.

In spring 2007, Photovoice participants launched a website to display their photographs and descriptions and to build a movement of fellow residents, community leaders, agency heads and elected officials to address many of the conditions depicted in the images.