East Los Angeles Community Corporation Receives Award Recognizing Its Affordable Housing Development Efforts

The 2007 Jim and Patty Rouse Award was received by the East LA Community Corporation (ELACC) in a ceremony held on November 15th at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The Rouse Award was created by the Enterprise Network to recognize the work of community-based and regional nonprofit organizations committed to developing affordable housing. The Enterprise Network is a leading provider of development capital and the expertise it takes to create affordable housing and rebuild communities. ELACC will receive a $10,000 grant to continue its work in creating affordable communities. Patty Rouse commended the group's work stating, "We celebrate ELACC as a leader and an innovator for all the good work they do everyday."

Everything the ELACC does is at the grassroots level and hinges on community involvement. When the organization began in 1996 the focus was upon organizing the neighborhoods in specific housing developments. This led to the creation of neighborhood councils to increase the advocacy efforts for neighborhood change. By 2003, the focus of the group turned towards working on education and employment issues. Within two years, housing was added as the third advocacy issue.

Since then, ELACC has invested $58 million in housing and other community development programs to benefit low and moderate income families and individuals in Boyle Heights and Unincorporated East Los Angeles. It develops affordable single family and multi family housing which are then made available as rental or purchase units for families or individuals whose income falls below the area's median income. ELACC also focuses upon economic development providing bilingual counseling and education on home buying and financial matters allowing individuals to acquire critical knowledge, skills, and resources. Primary among all their efforts is to engage, train, and support the community residents to promote social equity. Future goals of the group include building charter schools, community parks, retail and office space, and recreational facilities.

The need in the East Los Angeles community is great. According to ELACC, in the 1990's over 973 housing units were demolished for a major redevelopment project. The trend is continuing and it is expected that another 550 units will be lost to redevelopment over the next few years. These loss of units impact the residents who are generally non-English speaking immigrants working minimum wage jobs. These people are forced to relocate out of the community or struggle to afford more expensive rents or mortgages. Their lack of education puts them at risk for becoming victims of fraud and unscrupulous lenders. The community work of the ELACC provides these people with the tools needed educate and empower themselves regarding the issues that face their communities.

Sources:
Enterprise Community Partners, "East LA Community Corporation Receives 2007 Jim and Patty Rouse Award." PR NewsWire

Web site, East LA Community Corporation