Urban Initiatives Newsletter

April 2011

people at Tamales de la Paz event You Are Invited to Tamales de la Paz!

The Institute for Urban Initiatives created Tamales de la Paz in 2008 in partnership with Los Angeles Councilmember Ed P. Reyes - District 1, Office of the LA Chief of Police, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), and Mama's Hot Tamales in order to bring peace and healing to past events and outstanding issues that have troubled the MacArthur Park neighborhood including the May 1, 2007 confrontation between immigration rally and march supporters, media, police, and others in the park.

Tamales de la Paz

What Is Tamales de La Paz (Peace)?

Tamales de La Paz is a show of community solidarity that highlights the changes in recent years that have helped change MacArthur Park from a crime-filled park into a fun and family filled park as a result of a unique partnership between elected officials, Office of the LA Chief of Police, academic institutions, businesses, community service organizations including faith-based and nonprofit organizations, local government, and neighborhood organizations and residents.

Everyone is invited to demonstrate their solidarity be sharing the "Tamale de la Paz" (peace) which is a unique 10-foot creation of Mama's Hot Tamales the "Tamales Capital of the World" and noted by the media for uniting the "tamales of the world into a force of change" and "bringing all of Los Angeles together, one tamale at a time."

LA Councilmember Ed P. Reyes and - First District is confirmed to speak starting at 6:00 pm. LA Police Chief Charlie Beck and/or other Police official will also speak at the event.

Seventh Street between Alvarado and Lake Streets will be closed to traffic and filled with booths, tables and chairs. Community leaders will fill the booths with materials that note their positive contributions to the neighborhood that have made the MacArthur Park neighborhood a safer community. Tables and chairs will be made available to the public for dining.

When: Thursday, April 28, 2011

Time: 5 pm to Dusk

Where: Along Seventh Street between
Alvarado and Lake Streets
(in front of Mama's Hot Tamales Café
- 2122 W. Seventh St.)

Other Activities in Progress:

Urban Initiatives is serving as a consultant for other community-based activities which include:

The Haiti Development Initiative is a project of the Office for Urban Initiatives at Fuller Theological Seminary under the leadership of consultant Claude Alexandre who is an accomplished executive with years of local, national, and international experience in community and economic development.

Mr. Alexandre has initiated several partnerships between U.S. institutions and Haitian institutions over the years. Recently, he has initiated a partnership between Fuller Theological Seminary School of Psychology and the Faculty of Human Sciences at the State University of Haiti to create a Center for Research and Psychosocial Interventions that will further support the psycho-social needs of the Haitian community as a result of the recent earthquake and other physical disasters. For more information click here.

Human Trafficking in Southern California which is a joint effort with Oasis USA, the Western U.S. Office for Stop the Traffik and the Office for Urban Initiatives at Fuller Theological Seminary. Through this partnership, a survey will be completed that will describe the needs of women and men who have been trafficked into Southern California from Asian countries.

The Merced County 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness which is a strategy for the Merced County Association of Governments which is an association of city and county governments with members who meet to solve local regional problems including homelessness. For more information visit www.mc10yearplan.com.

Community-Based and Faith-Based Institutes

Urban Initiatives has established several community-based and faith-based institutes that provide a wide-range of community research, education, evaluation, and development activities that include the following:

Institute for Community Psychology studies, designs, and implements assessments, policies, and programs that help community institutions and systems of care improve the quality of life of local neighborhoods. Activities have focused upon domestic violence, health care, homelessness, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment.

For More Information Please Contact Sofia Herrera, PhD at sofiaherrera@urban-initiatives.org.

Institute for Transnational Research and Development is dedicated to the transformation of communities by engaging members in reflection and action that is based firmly in their contexts. ITRD understands the inter-connectivity of communities across national borders, thereby working to strengthen their natural networks and flows.

For More Information Please Contact Grace Dyrness, PhD at gracedyrness@urban-initiatives.org.

Institute for Vital Economic and Neighborhood Development facilitates neighborhood economic revitalization by creating viable employment and income generating opportunities through the development of successful worker-owned, small business enterprises.

For More Information Please Contact Joe Colletti, PhD at joecolletti@urban-initiatives.org.

Office for Urban Initiatives. In addition, Urban Initiatives has established the Office for Urban Initiatives in partnership with Fuller Theological Seminary which is located on the seminary campus. It provides opportunities for students and others from various educational institutions and other community organizations to strengthen their understanding of urban issues through collaborative research and community service.

For more information click here.

Issue: 15

In This Issue