Boyle Heights

Historically, Boyle Heights has been the entry point for various ethnic immigrants into Los Angeles.  In the 1940’s the neighborhood was the home for Jewish and Japanese American in Los Angeles. For the past two decades, however, it has been mostly Latino immigrants comprising 95 percent of the area’s population.  While more and more second generation Latinos are planting their roots in Boyle Heights, the neighborhood is still majority immigrants, comprising 53 percent of its total population, and 38 percent of the households are linguistically isolates where members of these households over the age of 14 cannot speak English “very well.” 

Boyle Heights is still a low income working neighborhood with the poverty rate averaging at 33 percent while the overall poverty rate in Los Angeles is 22 percent.   The median income for the area is $33,253 in contrast to the median income for all of Los Angeles which is approximately $53,000.  Homeownership in the area is also much lower at 11%, compared with the remainder of Los Angeles being 39%.

Boyle Heights is one of LA LISC’s targeted Sustainable Community areas.  To-date, LISC has invested $13 million primarily on affordable housing developments which have served to add significant inventory to the community’s critical supply shortage.    It is a community undergoing a transformation and is caught between past economic struggles and disinvestments and the onset of gentrification. 

East LA Community Corporation (ELACC)

East LA Community Corporation (ELACC) has provided 13 years as an advocate for economic and social justice in Boyle Heights and Unincorporated East Los Angeles.  ELACC’s mission includes the promotion of leadership, self-sufficiency, and economic development opportunities for low and moderate income families. ELACC seeks to use its development expertise to strengthen existing community infrastructure in communities of color by developing and preserving neighborhood assets. 

As the only East Los Angeles-based grassroots community development corporation, ELACC develops affordable housing for rent and homeownership, provides homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention workshops and financial literacy services, refers unemployed clients to apprenticeship and job training programs, and politically engages its very low-income constituency through community organizing work. ELACC also operates an Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program where low-income clients receive a 3 to 1 match for every dollar they save.  Once they reach their savings goals they may purchase a home, open or expand a business or buy a car.  ELACC also promotes employment training and workforce development through Los Angeles Works for Better Health

ELACC also serves as lead agency for Los Angeles LISC Sustainable Communities Initiative in the Boyle Heights Neighborhood, which is a community-driven process to improve the Quality-of-Life over 5 years.

http://www.elacc.org