New Report: A Close Look at the Reality of Community Violence Interrupters

Dr. Kathryn Bocanegra and Dr. Shani Buggs, eminent researchers and experts on the work of community violence intervention, have published, together with LISC, Supporting the Frontline Through Community Healing: Advancing Science on Violence Intervention Outreach and Trauma Exposure. The study, focused on safety efforts in Kansas City, MO, is a deeply researched and compassionate look at the trauma CVI workers confront every day and how to support the field so that practitioners “are protected from the same harms they work to prevent.”

“A Gateway for Possibilities”: Resident Leadership and Community Ownership

LISC's Institute for Community Power has published a new Spotlight examining three leadership development programs designed and implemented by LISC and local partners for distinct communities in different parts of the country: Training the Trainers (T4T) in Houston; the Newark Resident Leadership Academy (NRLA); and Community Connectors in Philadelphia. Each group has leveraged the leadership program to inform and strengthen their work and, in turn, to serve their communities more effectively.

Manufactured housing, which 20 million Americans call home, is one of the few affordable housing options in the United States. The residents of two Washington State mobile home communities recently succeeded in purchasing their parks with help from ROC USA and over $2 million in financing from Rural LISC. As a result, they have been able to stabilize their housing costs, upgrade their communities and remain in the places they love.

DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act granted the 1400 Aspen Street Tenants Association the right to seize their building after a decade long fight. LISC, supplemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Preservation Loan Fund, provided $3.9 million in acquisition financing to the association. Since rising above the COVID-19 pandemic and buyout offers, residents in the building are now settling into their upgraded permanent homes.

LISC’s Local Advisory Committees (LACs) serve as guides and champions for the organization’s many local offices and rural program. Women leaders from the finance, philanthropy, government and community development worlds bring a special—and especially important—set of skills and insights to this critical, behind-the-scenes part of our work to strengthen communities.

Drawing on their Argentinian heritage and family legacy as purveyors of fine sausages, Federico Etchechoury and his brother Martín brought their craft to the U.S. where they opened WeARGourment in suburban Atlanta. They soon found that starting a business in a new country is full of challenges. Thankfully, the Etchechoury brothers discovered Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, a free learning platform offering courses and one-on-one consulting in English and Spanish. Watch their story!