Department Overview The Community's Challenge The Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles region has historically been home to vast numbers of disenfranchised low-income Latino residents, many of whom are non-English speaking immigrants. As a result, past and present community needs have often been neglected by elected officials and representatives resulting in many of the negative social, economic and physical conditions which plague the community. In order to eliminate disparities, a united community front was needed to give the community a forum to voice their concerns regarding social and financial self-sufficiency and empowerment. Issues of housing, employment, and services are critical to improving the overall quality of life for the region. ELACC's Community Organizing Department motivates and organizes the community around these issues in order to foster an empowered and socially just community. Community Organizing Department Overview Fundamental to ELACC's social change philosophy is that residents of Boyle Heights and Unincorporated East Los Angeles must be the driving force behind reversing the negative social, economic and physical conditions that plague the Eastside community. ELACC's community organizing activities nurture residents into self-sufficient agents of change by providing them with organizational and leadership skills. It member base is organized in the Neighbors Building Neighborhoods network. Neighbors Building Neighborhoods (NBN) is a network of community residents uniting their efforts for a healthy community for their families. NBN is organized in committees where residents build their collective strength to make positive change in their community and they are trained as activists and leaders that: Organize community meetings Develop and implement neighborhood agendas Access resources Hold public and private institutions accountable ELACC's scope of organizing services enable residents to form a sense of community and individual empowerment while building a vision for making the Eastside community a better place to live. To get involved you can call: 323-269-4214 x 258.