Ariel Locke, a school administrative assistant, was ready for a change. That prompted her to pursue certification in engineering technology through MiraCosta College. A $1,000 scholarship from Community HousingWorks (CHW) is helping pay her way.

Community development organizations need to be "disaster resistant," believes Jayne Windham, CEO and senior consultant of Livable Housing, Inc. "This is sometimes difficult because we're all so busy

As the new school year begins, education leaders are making sure their students are prepared. For some, that means assessing the students in math, reading and more. It may mean making sure they're equipped with backpacks and paper. It may mean restocking food pantries.

At REACH Community Development, a NeighborWorks network organization in Portland, Oregon, residents began the pandemic by controlling what they could. They wore masks and kept a proper social distance. They worked and when they couldn't, they filed for unemployment. 

Prestamos CDFI, a division of NeighborWorks network nonprofit Chicanos Por La Causa, has funded billions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the pandemic, with more than three fourths of those loans going to minority-owned businesses. By the end of June, the Community Development Financial Institution funded $7.6 billion in loans, supporting hairstylists, artists, custodians and more.

Victoria Barajas was stressed. "Everybody was struggling with the pandemic and with unemployment," she says. "Everything was scary." Barajas herself had been laid off from her temporary job when businesses in San Diego shut down in 2020. So, she hiked up Cowles Mountain. It was important to stay active, and being in nature soothed her.

When Malcolm Yeung interviewed for the executive director post at Chinatown Community Development Center, COVID-19 was still on the horizon. "By January 2020, it was becoming clear we were on the precipice of something very monumental," he says. "I don’t think it quite hit home as to how monumental."
 

Mary Ann Cuellar knows the importance of resources. So in March of 2020, when the pandemic forced many financial coaches and housing counselors to provide services in an online-only format, she immediately began calling her clients on the phone to make sure they were okay and had the resources they needed. 

Erich Nakano, executive director of Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), says his journey to housing and community development began with three events. An activist whose parents sought to amplify stories about Japanese internment in the United States, Nakano says friends, family and fellow college students all shined lights on a path to working with the community he loved.

The 1970s

Veronica Lopez will always remember March 16, 2020. It’s the day that Los Angeles County ordered the closure of businesses and banned large public gatherings of any kind to contain the COVID-19 virus. Almost immediately, the constant phone calls from businesses seeking assistance began and didn’t start to slow down until several months later in June.