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"Bridging"

Prosperity Campaign: Envisioning a prosperous East Side of St. Paul

For three years the Prosperity Campaign brought together 64 organizations to build relationships and to share their vision for an engaged, prosperous community.  During that time, the organizations created momentum for collaborative social change and kept alive the dream of community prosperity in spite of the fragile economy.  When the Prosperity Campaign ended in 2008, the commitment to the process remained and the momentum for change was strong.

During the final meeting of the Prosperity Campaign in November 2008, approximately 15 individuals volunteered to serve on the East Side Planning Group.  The multi-cultural, multi-sector group of leaders accepted responsibility for shaping a community vision and long-term action plan for the East Side.  They agreed to meet monthly over a period of 6 months to determine how they will combine their unique perspectives and contributions to advance social and economic prosperity on the East Side of St. Paul.

Although these organizations and individuals had been together at the Prosperity Campaign table for 3 years, this process asked them to work together in a different way – more intentionally and more collaboratively with a shared plan of action.  The goals for the 6 months were ambitious, but the individuals at the table were all deeply committed to the process.  During their brief time together, the East Side Planning Group made significant progress, including the drafting of an initial vision document that broke down into four issue areas.  Those areas are:

• Community Wealth and Prosperity

• Community Voice, Belonging and Action

• Community Health and Wellness

• Community Education and Learning

Nexus’s role has been to ensure the voice of the community is infused in the vision and subsequent plan.  Nexus is partnering with several culturally based organizations, such as Casa de Esperanza, the Cultural Wellness Center, and the American Indian Family Center, all of whom place community engagement at the center of their work.

A lot of work still needs to be done, but the groups are deeply committed to the process and realizing our goal.  Nexus will continue to be at the table providing strategic thinking and guidance as they explore innovative ways to better serve communities and realize a vision for the East Side of St. Paul.

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Buildng Blocks for a Sustainable Future

Nexus Community Partners focuses its work in two areas:  Community Engagement and Asset Building Initiatives.  We know that alone neither focus area will result in building more engaged and powerful communities. However, by bridging these two areas we can help create an actively engaged community that has greater power over and responsibility for the decisions that shape their community and is in a better position to take advantage of various asset building opportunities. With the end goal being the achievement of more equitable and sustainable neighborhood revitalization.

Building Blocks for a Sustainable Future is an excellent example of how community engagement has strengthened the housing work on the East Side of St. Paul and fueled a larger neighborhood revitalization effort.

In 2008, with support from Nexus Community Partners and Invest St. Paul, East Side Neighborhood Development Company (ESNDC) embarked on an ambitious community engagement program called “Building Blocks for a Sustainable Future”.   The program was created to engage with the community and to help them take control of their mutual self-interest in stabilizing the residential areas of the neighborhood hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.  ESNDC targeted 20 city blocks within the Payne Phalen neighborhood. This area has the second highest number of foreclosures in the State of Minnesota and is weighed down by more than 100 vacant and/or foreclosed residential properties. 

To date the “Building Blocks for a Sustainable Future” program has successfully brought over 100 renters, homeowners, and rental property owners together by employing a system of culturally and linguistically relevant outreach, organizing, and engagement.  Many people confessed to never having attended a community meeting before and just as many stated that they didn’t even know their neighbors.  Through a series of community planning workshops the community created a housing “Quality of Life” plan.  ESNDC staff and resident leaders presented the housing “Quality of Life” plan to City officials, neighborhood organizations, community development entities and other decision makers and interested organizations.  This outreach attracted the interest of numerous community development partners and City staff who wanted to work with a community that is engaged and invested in its future. 

In 2010, ESNDC will deepen its work within the African American, Latino and Hmong communities, while bringing together the residents and the business community to develop a broader vision of long term community prosperity.  This is a pivotal time for St. Paul’s East Side.  In many ways, each challenge brings with it an opportunity for the community to reframe its future.  But this can only happen if the community comes together.  The residents, business people, property owners, organizations, and institutions must be brought together in all of their diversity to express the desired changes through a collective vision.  This is a model and a lesson to be shared throughout our area.

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