2010 Annual Report

Philadelphia

Building a Healthy West Philadelphia

Begun in 2007, LISC’s comprehensive initiative, SCI-West, has allowed LISC to leverage its partnerships with CDC, government, foundation and institutional partners to launch a number of unique programs and projects in West Philadelphia. These include: The Center for Culinary Enterprises, which will be one of the most comprehensive kitchen incubators in the nation; The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, which trains residents to install green and white roofs in neighborhood homes; The Digital Inclusion Program, which increases the technological literacy of low-income families; and The Community Safety Initiative, which aims to reduce crime through the creation of a significant partnership between West Philadelphia CDCs and police districts.

Eastern North Philadelphia: Community Planning and Early Action

In 2010, LISC launched its second Sustainable Communities Initiative in Eastern North Philadelphia by engaging residents and community leaders in an intensive quality-of-life planning process. Early action projects include the redesigns of a local pocket park and a handball court.

Promoting Safe and Livable Neighborhoods

In SCI-West, Philadelphia LISC, the CDC partners, and the Philadelphia Police Department have used information from a detailed crime study done by University City District (a SCI-West partner CDC) to come to early agreement on several projects and interventions designed to combat crime in priority areas. In SCI-Eastern North, we’ve partnered with the National Crime and Safety Initiative to train CDC partners and weigh in on the safety components of a park redesign.

Stimulating Economic Activity

The LISC Commercial Corridor Program has continued to provide funding and technical assistance to CDCs. In 2010, we continued funding four CDCs doing corridor work who effectively saw 23 businesses open on their corridors, 273 jobs created and retained, and 82 façade improvements on neighborhood businesses.

Fostering Healthy Environments

LISC continued to support the Partnership CDC’s Green and Healthy Homes program, which provides homeowners with green and white roofs and resources to eliminate home health risks, financial literacy training, and free computers. In addition to providing a valuable resource, the green and white roofs program creates jobs. Nine SCI-West residents were trained and certified to install the roofs.

Increasing Access to Quality Education

LISC has supported the SCI-West Education Collaborative, a partnership between the SCI-West CDCs and 15 area schools. To date, the program has placed 25 area students in internships, brought nutrition programs into the classroom, and increased parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling.