| California State University-Northridge (CSUN) will use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities grant to expand their role and effectiveness in addressing community development needs within their area. CSUN will work with families in the neighborhoods served by two targeted elementary schools in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, Hubbard Elementary, and Dyer Elementary. Combining service learning and leadership development in a unique community-based program, CSUN will work directly with parents as they address housing, employment, education, health, and other critical issues. Through a partnership with the North East Valley Urban Initiative program, this project promotes community reciprocity through initiatives that allow beneficiaries to create programs that benefit other community members.
The target area is Sylmar, California, a predominately low-income area in the San Fernando Valley of the City of Los Angeles. Based on 1998 estimates, 70 percent of residents in these communities are Hispanic. At least 20 percent of families meet federal poverty criteria and 49 percent are at no more than twice the poverty level. Within this target population, at least 51 percent of households receive some sort of public assistance.
The CSUN HSIAC project will foster family self-sufficiency through the development of two neighborhood centers located at Hubbard Elementary School and Dyer Elementary School. These sites will serve as the central location for community development projects, acting as a catalyst in the reduction of unemployment through promotion of education and training. Currently the communities surrounding the two schools do not have a centralized meeting place. In both of these localities the local elementary school serves as a natural location for a community center to serve not only families involved with the schools but any family residing in the community.
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