Allen Neighborhood Center - MI - Eastside of Lansing
Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) serves as a hub for neighborhood revitalization and capacity building. We offer activities that promote the health, safety, stability, and economic well-being of Eastside residents and other stakeholders.
Description:
Founded in 1999 by neighborhood activists and leaders involved in an Eastside-based ‘healthy communities initiative’, the Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) serves as a dynamic hub for neighborhood revitalization, offering programs that promote the health, food security, safety, stability, and economic well-being of Eastside residents and other stakeholders. Our comprehensive and integrative approach, (as opposed to a single issue focus such as housing or food security) has resulted in a set of inter-related and synergistic programs that engage and serve approximately 8000 Eastside residents each year. These include the Allen Street Farmers Market, the Hunter Park GardenHouse, Youth Service Corps, Wednesday Morning Senior Coffee, Health Outreach and Education, and much more.
Located in the heart of our immediate service area, we provide a neighbor-friendly point of access to services, resources and programs, including those offered by large institutions (Ingham County Health Department, Ingham Human Services, City of Lansing) as well as our own home-grown and neighborhood-specific offerings described in detail below:
NEIGHBORHOOD-DRIVEN ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING
ANC is embedded in this community, and hosts regular forums for Eastside stakeholders on a wide range of neighborhood issues. These creative assessment and planning processes ensure that our programs are crafted by the people with the greatest stake in neighborhood improvement--those that live and/or work here. Our current planning projects include a series of public forums on critical topics (housing, the neighborhood food system, workforce development, energy and environment, commercial corridor improvement) that will be addressed in the City's Master Planning process this year and next. Our series is designed to prepare stakeholders for informed participation in community conversations on these important topics.
OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT
For six years, our Health Outreach and Engagement team has done extensive outreach in the neighborhood, including conducting door-to-door canvasses, appearing regularly at Eastside school and faith-based events, and hosting large community gatherings in order to link residents to resources and to one another. The team provides information, referral and advocacy services, ensuring access to health, housing, human services (e.g., Ingham Health Plan coverage for uninsured, MIChild, Medicaid, Plan First, financial literacy, healthy parenting programs and classes). They also connect residents to neighborhood watches and associations, gardening groups, and walking clubs---building connectivity and social capital in this richly diverse area of the City. Outreach Team members provide extensive support to both long-standing and emerging neighborhood groups of all sizes and types, providing technical assistance and opportunities for leadership and organizational development. We also produce and distribute the Eastside Neighbor newsletter to 3500 households every other month, and maintain a lively website at www.allenneighborhoodcenter.org. Finally, because all of our programs rely on the active involvement of neighbor/volunteers, we routinely recruit, train, and manage a volunteer force of approximately 120 people per year.
FOOD RESOURCE PROJECT - Overview
Since its inception, Allen Neighborhood Center has focused on food issues to address health and to build community. Our food program began in 2000 as a food pantry (Breadbasket). Breadbasket currently serves over 85 families each week, providing several grain-based products and gleaned produce. Our Food Resource Project evolved in 2004 to include the popular neighborhood-based Allen Street Farmers Market, a partnership between our urban neighborhood and farmers on the perimeter of the City. ANC received the 2005 RED Team Award for excellence in regional and community service for creation of the Market, and that same year, became the first non-profit in Michigan authorized to accept EBT for our farmers. Our Market has grown dramatically over the last six years, drawing 16 farmers/vendors and over 16,000 patrons (over 700 each week) to our 4.5 hour Wednesday afternoon Market .
In 2008, we added the third major component of our Food Resources Project with the opening of the Hunter Park Community GardenHouse, a hub for educational and entrepreneurial urban agriculture initiatives. Our year-round, 95' X 36' greenhouse was funded by a Cool Cities Neighborhoods in Progress Grant, which was also used to install a perimeter path in Hunter Park. The Hunter Park Community GardenHouse had its grand opening in May, 2008, and has since engaged over 150 neighbors of all ages in gardening activities, raised bed gardening in the greenhouse, the first in the area 'Urban Gardener Certification Project', and Garden-in-a-Box, a scale appropriate introduction to yard gardening for neighbors with limited income, mobility and/or gardening skill.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Allen Neighborhood Center’s very first program in 1999 was the Youth Service Corps. This after school and summer program offers civic, job, and life skill training for middle and high school aged students. This now ten year old program has morphed over the last two years into a 'green corps', with members taking the lead in the building of all interior beds in the GardenHouse, planting and tending several of these for their booth at the Allen Street Farmers Market, and launching the Garden-in-a-Box project. Members of the group also serve as Student Farmers in the summer, working at the rural farms of the farmers that participate in our Market. Currently, they are growing food for several neighborhood restaurants in their year round GardenHouse beds. Of significance, youth are integrated into all of our food and gardening activities as well as other neighborhood improvement initiatives, such as litter patrol, newsletter delivery, clean up of public spaces, and simple patch and repair for neighborhood seniors.
HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Since 2004, ANC has offered housing programs, including home improvement workshops, home tours, housing counseling services (foreclosure counseling, first time home buyer assistance classes, credit repair, down payment assistance, and financial literacy). We have promoted economic development on neighborhood corridors (East Michigan Ave., E. Kalamazoo St.) by administering a successful façade improvement grant program, and facilitating joint marketing and promotion initiatives with local businesses.
SENIOR SUPPORT
From the earliest days of the Center, we have hosted the Wednesday Morning Senior Coffee, a topical program featuring speakers on a wide range of issues. Each weekly session draws 20-25 elders for "pretty good coffee and great conversation". We also host a monthly Kinship Care Support Group- an educational and support group for grandparents raising grandchildren.
History:
History
Founded in late 1999, Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) grew out of a four year old 'healthy communities’ initiative called the Eastside Summit. The Center, established by six neighborhood leaders for the purpose of doing comprehensive and integrative community development, provides services and programs in health education and promotion, food resources and education, housing, economic development, and support for current and emerging neighborhood organizations.
Contact people:
Office fax number: (517) 367-0158
Address:
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1619 E.Kalamazoo St.Lansing, MI 48912(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.allenneighborhoodcenter.org
Directions:
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Located on the corner of Kalamazoo and Shepard.
Nearest Bus Stop: 1,15 |
| Last updated on October 20, 2009 |
