Redeemer Community Partnership

FY24 Program Accomplishments July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024YOUTH LEADERSHIPRCP received a 10-year grant from Bold Vision to advance our work with neighborhood youth. RCP Youth strives to address the educational disparities in South Central Los Angeles, where funding from LAUSD disadvantages low-income neighborhoods compared to higher-income areas. Our holistic approach empowers middle and high school students through a combination of academic support, spiritual growth, and personal development. Our Green House, retrofitted to become zero-emission, provides a welcoming space for youth and families to engage in learning, recreation, and community events. We offer individualized mentoring and diverse programs that support academic success, leadership skills, and advocacy, including our Energy is Everything curriculum that introduces students to careers in energy and sustainability. Our focus on care for our common home includes initiatives like Clean Mobility, ending neighborhood extraction, and advocacy for safe routes to schools. These efforts empower youth to become active leaders in their communities. We bridge the digital divide by providing access to the latest technology, including drones, 3D printers, and VR sets, and foster workforce readiness through hands-on training in the trades. By addressing critical social issues such as gang violence and drug prevention, we create a nurturing environment where every student can thrive and make a meaningful impact. ADVENTURES AHEADThe goal of Adventures Ahead is to improve education outcomes for elementary students by achieving grade-appropriate literacy and nurturing each childs development as a lifelong reader. Students who remain with the program for a full year average 1.4 years of improvement in their reading proficiency. Adventures Ahead closes the achievement gap for children in South Central LA and nurtures in each one a life-long love for reading.SCHOOL CHOICE FAMILY OUTREACHThe neighborhood that Redeemer Community Partnership serves contains schools with some of the lowest student achievement scores in California. But students also have access to high-performing magnet schools with free transportation, public charter schools that are boosting student achievement with innovative strategies, special programs led by local universities and a small number of neighborhood schools that are beating the odds. Over the years we have seen that many families either dont know about the options available or cannot figure out how to access better opportunities. To address this knowledge gap we began publishing a full-color guidebook with easily understandable graphics, data charts, maps and instructions for various types of applications. We also posted a bilingual video online. Our community continues to request and use these resources. COMMUNITY HEALTHRedeemer Community Partnership continues to work to protect and promote public health across an array of programs that assess industrys health impacts, reduce air pollution, and ensure enforcement of public safety and public health regulations. RCP is working on the redevelopment of a former extraction site to create a new public park, affordable housing, and community center. RCP partners with universities to understand the public health impacts of air pollution on local residents. Finally, RCP advocates for citywide solutions to strengthen the health and safety of vulnerable communities. SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLHistoric dis-investment in South Central LA has left most major boulevards in our community on the Citys High Injury Networkthe 6% of city streets that account for more than 70% of severe injuries and fatalities for people walking. Redeemer Community Partnership surfaces shared vision for safe routes to school and mobility justice for our friends and neighbors who walk, bike and roll by wheelchair.Jefferson BeautifulThis year the City of Los Angeles broke ground on the Jefferson Beautiful project. Redeemer has led a 10-year campaign that secured $12.3 million in grants to realize the communitys vision for safe streets. The project will repair broken sidewalks and add pedestrian lighting, street trees, bike lanes, and new signalized pedestrian crossings to a one-mile stretch of Jefferson Blvd. from Vermont Ave. west to Western Ave. Redeemer Community Partnership continues to engage community members with updates and to monitor construction to ensure the communitys vision is realized.Normandie BeautifulOver the last four years, RCP led the Normandie Beautiful campaign to create safe routes to school for 9,000 students attending 14 local public schools. The project seeks to transform Normandie Ave., one of Los Angeles High Injury Network streets and a flashpoint in the 1992 Civil Unrest, into a safe and accessible route for people walking, biking and navigating by wheelchair. Redeemer Community Partnership facilitated robust community engagement to develop a shared vision for protecting our most vulnerable roadway users--children and people walking, biking and rolling. The California Transportation Commission awarded the project a highly competitive $27 million grant to make the communitys vision reality. RCP has continued to engage residents, including youth, to call the City to act with urgency to begin design work. Since Fall 2023, we have conducted initial assessment and outreach to 200+ residents, business owners, and property owners living and working along the Normandie Corridor to share updates about the project and ask for their support on an upcoming vote for a lighting district. We have also hosted a series of workshops with local youth to talk about street safety, conduct comparative walk audits, and engage political leaders to speed implementation.emPOWERRedeemer Community Partnerships emPower program connects low-income residents to energy efficiency rebates and lower utility rates, utility bill cash assistance, free energy-efficient appliances, clean mobility, and more. emPOWER seeks to overcome barriers to clean energy commonly experienced in low-income and working-class communities. The program matches household needs with local and statewide resources to help residents maximize potential savings and use of available incentive programs.All of these efforts are part and parcel of Redeemer Community Partnerships work to become and build the beloved community in South Central LA by catalyzing hope, peace and neighboring.