Broadway Village I

The Project
Beyond Shelter's Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project was developed after the 1992 Civil Unrest in South Los Angeles, in response to critical housing and social services needs in the area. A collaborative effort of Beyond Shelter and Beyond Shelter Housing Development Corporation, the project was initiated in 1993, with the development of Umoja Apartments, a service-enriched, affordable housing complex located at 74th and Main streets. Consisting of 30 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, the development for low-income families opened in 1996.

As part of its continuing commitment to the area, in 1998 Beyond Shelter began the development of Broadway Village I, a one-stop, multi-service center located at 79th Street and Broadway. The first phases of the project – the Beyond Shelter Family Services Center and the Drew Child Development Center – opened in 2001. The latest phase includes the July 2004 opening of a 16-unit affordable, service-enriched housing development for formerly homeless and low-income families and a playground/mini-park. Neighborhood Resource Center facilities located on the first floor of the apartment building also serves to expand the social services and agency collaboration components already in place at Broadway Village I.

In December 2003, construction began on Broadway Village II on an acre of land at 51st Street and Broadway, two miles north of Broadway Village I. Completed in 2006, Broadway Village II is a 50-unit service-enriched affordable housing complex for very low-income families. The on-site Karsten Neighborhood Resource Center is scheduled to open in August, 2008, providing social and human services programs to residents of the 50-unit Broadway Village II apartments and approximately 1,500 residents of the surrounding neighborhood annually, in addition to programs and services to be offered in collaboration with the Neighborhood Resource Center at Broadway Village I.

In conjunction with the development of new, affordable housing for families with children, Beyond Shelter and its development affiliate, Beyond Shelter Housing Development Corporation (BSHDC), have also been acquiring and preserving expiring Section 8 housing sites in the neighborhoods targeted by the revitalization project. After renovation and rehabilitation, each site is then provided access to a services coordinator to assist in addressing  socioeconomic needs.

The Neighborhoods
The neighborhoods targeted for the revitalization project are located in the economically depressed center of the larger underserved South L.A. community. Comprised of approximately 34 percent African American and 65 percent Latino residents, among others, the area is plagued by chronic poverty, vast unemployment, domestic violence, substance abuse, gang activity and urban decay. The high school dropout rate is over 25 percent, and nearly a third of adults in the neighborhoods have less than a ninth-grade education. Major employers left the community long ago, leaving limited employment opportunities for youths and working adults. Because of this and other socioeconomic factors, approximately 43 percent of families live below the poverty level. Households headed by single females fare worse, with 53 percent with children under 18 living below the poverty level. Thus, many families in the area receive public assistance. Individuals who rely on public transportation for work, commerce and recreation face a system that is complicated and often requires many transfers. One- to two-hour commutes are not unusual for individuals using public transportation to travel to places of employment. Likewise, opportunities for recreation for children are limited as there are few safe parks or other recreational facilities in these neighborhoods. 

The Need
In this underserved area of Los Angeles, social services and community resources are often fragmented, difficult to access and rarely address the multiple needs of families with children, the elderly, people with special needs and other residents. The 1992 Civil Unrest – still evidenced by the many properties that have not yet been redeveloped – exacerbated the problems of an already plagued area. At the same time, gang activity, the drug trade and street violence continue to undermine the quality of life for residents. Because of the fragmented social service delivery system, residents have limited access to services that can assist them in breaking the cycle of dependency and in moving toward improved economic and social well-being. Additionally, lack of social support and isolation continues to perpetuate generational poverty in the community.

The Goal
In addition to the development and renovation of affordable housing, Beyond Shelter's Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project focuses on the provision of support to residents in South Los Angeles by connecting them with resources and services that currently exist in the area and in the broader community and by promoting a response to "gaps" in service delivery. The goals of the project are to enhance the social and economic conditions of those served and help them to provide a safer and more nurturing environment for younger and successive generations. 

Research
The Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project has been the focus of two recent demonstration projects, both aimed at assessing the needs of the community and improving service delivery to residents. A comprehensive needs assessment of neighborhood residents is currently under way by Beyond Shelter's Institute staff and graduate students from the University of California, Los Angeles as part of the Beyond Shelter/UCLA South Central Community Needs Assessment Project. Survey results and interviews will be utilized to help expand the design of neighborhood services coordination at Broadway Village I and provide a basis for the implementation plan for neighborhood services coordination at Broadway Village II when construction is completed in 2005. This project will also demonstrate a practical application in Los Angeles that will be replicable in other neighborhoods in L.A. County and throughout the country.

The implementation and evaluation of the neighborhood services coordination methodology also formed the core of the Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination Demonstration Project funded by The California Endowment from 2002 to 2004. The purpose of this project was to pilot a model for improving the social and economic well-being of residents of the neighborhood surrounding Broadway Village I, through the use of the maximization of existing resources, interagency collaboration, and partnerships between residents, service-providers, and other stakeholders. A key component of the project was that residents participate in the planning processes and ongoing implementation of programs and activities for the improvement of their community.

Read more about Beyond Shelter's Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project as featured on Changemakers.net by clicking here.

Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization
Service-Enriched Housing Sites

Umoja Apartments
74th Street & Main

Located in an area greatly impacted by the 1992 civil disturbances, the Umoja Apartments (House of Unity) were developed in partnership with Faith Housing Corporation of Faith United Methodist Church. Opened in 1996, Umoja was selected by the AFL-CIO to participate in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 Community Investment Demonstration Project. Umoja includes 30 units of one- to four-bedroom apartments, which surround a courtyard. A range of activities and programs organized by the on-site services coordinator, the Resident Management Committee and Resident Manager address the recreational, community and social concerns and needs of residents. A computer learning center is also available for residents' use, including those needing to refine their skills for employment. Additional social services can be accessed at nearby Broadway Village I, which offers comprehensive social services for the neighborhood, as well as an on-site child care program operated by the Drew Child Development Corporation.

Broadway Village I
 79th Street & Broadway
 

groups. A demonstration project of Beyond Shelter's newest initiative, Neighborhood-Based Services Coordination, Broadway Village I is available to other community agencies wishing to provide services and conduct programs on-site. The child care center, offering an age-appropriate academic and recreational program for 60 neighborhood children (18 months through 5 years old), is operated by Drew Child Development Corporation through a long-term, renewable lease. 

Broadway Village II
51st Street & Broadway

Broadway Village II Apartments is an additional major component of Beyond Shelter’s Neighborhood Revitalization Project (NRP) in South Los Angeles, developed by Beyond Shelter and its development affiliate, Beyond Shelter Housing Development Corporation.  Located on South Broadway Ave. between 51st and 52nd streets in South Los Angeles, the 44,000-square-foot site includes a 50-unit service-enriched, affordable housing complex for low-income families. The complex features one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, secured parking, a library, classrooms, a services coordinator's office, and community meeting rooms. On its first floor, the site also includes the Karsten Neighborhood Resource Center, which will open in  August, 2008.  The Center will be the second Neighborhood Resource Center along South Broadway Ave. (joining the center two miles to the south, at Broadway Village I) and it will provide a broad range of programs and services for residents of the community at-large.

The Broadway Village II Apartment complex provides residents with:

• On-site services are provided by a Services Coordinator from Beyond Shelter.  Participation in services is not mandatory, but will be available to residents as needed, including crisis intervention, money management and life skills education, individual and family counseling, referrals for job development and job placement, parenting education, welfare and legal advocacy, children’s services and enrichment activities and assistance in accessing neighborhood and community resources.

• Special programs and resources, including household furnishings, as needed, including field trips and picnics, Holiday parties and special events, and involvement with special needs of families and their children, through members of Temple Isaiah of West Los Angeles.

• Tenant participation in management and in the development of programs and activities, through a Resident Management Committee.

• Community Rooms for resident meetings, after-school tutorial programs, music and dance classes, and periodic adult education seminars, a Library/Study Room and Computer Lab.

Residents at Broadway Village Apartments include single parent and two-parent families, many of whom were previously homeless, and approximately 150 children under the age 18.  Families are low and very low-income, not exceeding 60% of the median income for Los Angeles County residents.  

Curtis Johnson Apartments 
Scattered Sites

This newly acquired "preservation project"  in South Los Angeles is subsidized under the Housing Urban Development Section 8 Program. BSHDC formed a limited partnership with the California Community Reinvestment Corporation Affordable Housing Partners to transform 48 "at-risk" housing sites into a model of scattered-site, service-enriched housing units. Residents have access to a shared services coordinator and to the services provided at nearby Broadway Village I. The units received kitchen, bathroom, parking and landscape upgrades as well as the addition of on-site laundry facilities. Completed in December 2002, there are 17 studio, 18 one-bedroom and 13 two-bedroom units for very low-income families. The sites are located near schools, markets, recreation facilities and various sources of employment, as well as major bus routes and a light rail station.

New Sites

Additional service-enriched housing developments and Neighborhood Resource Centers are currently in early planning stages as part of the Broadway South Neighborhood Revitalization Project.

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