| The Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (Trade-Tech) will provide technical assistance, technology training, and community development to residents, businesses, and community organizations in the Vernon-Central (V-C) neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. The V-C community is in the Los Angeles Empowerment Zone. It is located in South Central Los Angeles and is the neighborhood immediately south of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. Once a vibrant residential community with a strong cultural and economic base, V-C is now a low-income, asset poor neighborhood.
Vernon-Central and the larger community in which it resides, is characterized by abject, concentrated poverty. The median household income is one-half of that of Los Angeles County. Less than 20% of residents have more than a high school degree, and today as many as 50% of high school students drop out. The neighborhood suffers from physical obsolescence and blight. The economy is undeveloped, with numerous mom and pop businesses and low-wage jobs.
Trade-Tech is joining forces with the partners in the V-C Building Neighborhood Assets Initiative (BNA) to address these problems. The Vernon-Central BNA is one of six nationally funded comprehensive neighborhood asset building initiatives sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation. BNA's specific objectives are to increase homeownership, financial education and services, neighborhood and economic revitalization, and social capita and community building strategies.
This grant will specifically help Trade-Tech provide business outreach and technical assistance to 100 V-C merchants and industries and train 60 local high school students in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
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