The pilot program of the CREATE Project was launched in the summer of 2015, in the joint municipalities of Dunkirk and Fredonia. Located in the northern part of Chautauqua County, in New York State, the area features a wonderful combination of urban, small town, and rural facets. Agriculture, manufacturing, and a university contribute to the struggling economy. The population, comprised of migrant families, displaced persons, educated, middle-class, and economically challenged families, blend together to make a unique place.

A particular combination of factors in this locality lends itself well to the CREATE Project’s grand social experiment: to use the arts to motivate and educate the population to eliminate child-trauma, abuse and neglect.

It is the premise of the CREATE Project that, if this can be achieved to some degree in this small isolated community, it can be replicated in other communities in the region, state, and country. It is not “a quick fix.

Instead, the CREATE Project is “playing the long game.” We anticipate that the personal, social, institutional, and cultural changes necessary to reach this goal may take years and possibly generations to achieve.

However, we remain confident in the measured, carefully designed process, and invite others to join us in our mission. As of this writing, other communities and groups are embracing the CREATE Project and its goal, including the Blossom Garden Friends and Family Peace and Education Center, located in Collins, in Erie County, in New York State.

DUNKIRK, NY 

Dunkirk, NY,  and its adjacent neighbor, Fredonia, NY , though very different in some ways, are really one community. Geographically isolated, the community is bound on three borders by miles of rural farmland, and on the western border, by Lake Erie.

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,563 people, 5,477 households, and 3,690 families residing in the city. The  population density was 2,774.6 people per square mile (1,119.2/km²). There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of 1,340.6 per square mile (517.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.70% White, 5.1% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.50 Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 9.14% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.40% of the population.

There were 5,477 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,313, and the median income for a family was $35,058. Males had a median income of $29,462 versus $21,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,482. About 18.5% of families and 22.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.0% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

FREDONIA, NY

Fredonia is a village in Chautauqua County, New York.  The population was 11,230 as of the 2010 census. Fredonia is in the town of Pomfret south of Lake Erie. The village borders the city of Dunkirk and is the home of the State University of New York (in the northwest part of the village).

Fredonia is one of only twelve villages in New York still incorporated under a charter, the other villages having incorporated or re-incorporated under the provisions of Village Law.

As of the census of 2010, there were 11,230 people (an increase of 524 people or 4.89%) and 3,811 households (an increase of 170 or 4.69%). The population density was 2,159.6 people per square mile (838.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was: 93.82% (10,536 people) white; 1.80% (202 people) African-American; 1.61% (181 people) Asian; 0.27% (30 people) Native American/Alaskan; 0.04% (4 people) Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; 1.19% (134 people) other; and 1.27% (143 people) of two or more races. Of any race, 3.91% (439 people) were Hispanic/Latino.

In the village the population was spread out with 13.11% (1,472 people) under the age of 18, 15.68% (1,761 people) ages 18 and 19, 26.5% (2,977 people) ages 20–24, 7.52% (844 people) ages 25–34, 11.96% (1,343 people) ages 35–49, 13.46% (1,511 people) ages 50–64, and 11.77% (1,322 people) over the age of 65. The male population made up 46.85% (5,261 people) of the total population and the female population made up 53.15% (5,969 people) of the total population.

Previously, in 2000 there were 10,706 people, 3,641 households, and 1,951 families residing in the village. The median income for a household in the village was $34,712, while the median income for a family was $49,549.

 

Collins, NY

Collins, NY is the southernmost town in Erie County, Cattaraugus Creek being the southern boundary line. Collins was formed from Concord on the 16th of March, 1821; North Collins was taken off in November, 1852, leaving this town with its present area of about sixty-two square miles. It includes a large part of the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, which extends north-westerly from Gowanda along Cattaraugus Creek.