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The Lincoln Center Project was a joint
effort of Lafayette Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. (LNHS) and the
Lafayette Transitional Housing Center (LTHC). This joint effort was in
response to the growing homeless problem identified by Lafayette's Homeless Prevention Networked,
of whom both agencies were members. Not only was homelessness a growing
challenge in this town, but also providing this population with the proper
support and means to achieve stability. LNHS and LTHC decided to design a
place that was conducive to individuals that were in the process of getting
on their feet. They not only wanted to provide housing, but also a
"seamless" network of social services located in one area that
could help them to progress.
The Lincoln
Center was originally built as a
school for Lafayette's
African American population during segregation. After the school was closed,
a Vietnamese family who used it to provide housing to relatives in transition
purchased it. The Lincoln
School building has
been a symbol of support and community in the past, and it seemed fitting to
carry this on into the future. The building was purchased by LNHS and LTHC,
and by June 1998, renovation was complete.
The end result was a historic and a
socially important building that was brought back to life, providing housing
and the seamless support of social services both agencies envisioned. The Lincoln Center now has 11 single occupancy
units on one side, and offices housing over 15 social service agencies on the
other.
What sets this project apart from others is
that we have created a model for communities all over the country to use,
while rehabilitating an older building. The outcome of the Lincoln Center
was focused on three areas: Aiding the homeless population in Lafayette, creating a
seamless system of social services to be available to its residents and to
the public, and to have a positive influence on change that is occurring in
the entire city, in particular, the Lincoln Neighborhood. By achieving all
three of our desired outcomes, we have produced a model that could be
replicated on any scale, in any urban environment.
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Leadership
Development
Sometimes being interested in your
neighborhood isn't enough. With the right training and knowledge, an active
neighbor can turn into a neighborhood leader.
Several times a year, Neighborhood
Reinvestment Corporation conducts leadership training for neighborhoods and
community development. LNHS has sponsored neighborhood association members
who have sought to attend these sessions.
For one week, participants are feed
information and given the tools necessary to help their association reach
their goals.
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Plan
writing
As neighborhoods become organized, many
times a plan of action is necessary in order to tackle issues. LNHS has
provided planning assistance for neighborhoods as a way of helping them
prioritize and set goals.
Our recently completed work with the
Columbian Park Focus Area, a project funded by the City of Lafayette, has been an effort to help these
neighbors grasp and maintain control of what happens on their block and on
their street.
Our approach, however, is not to simply
write out a "plan of action" for a group of residents from our
perspective. Rather, we guide the process so that the plan actually comes
from the residents themselves. We consider ourselves facilitators, not
experts. The neighbors themselves are the experts on their neighborhood.
Through planning sessions, visioning,
brainstorming, and asset recognition, we help to formulate a document that
expresses where the neighborhood is now and where the neighbors want to take
it.
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