One East Palo Alto Neighborhood Improvement Initiative
Selected Accomplishments, 2009

In 2009, One East Palo Alto (OEPA) achieved numerous accomplishments resulting from its overall community organizing and convening work.  Below are some notable examples.

• Convened the East Palo Alto Crime Reduction Task Force’s (EPACRTF) quarterly meetings in partnership with the Office of Honorable Rose Jacobs Gibson, San Mateo County Supervisor, 4th District

• Successfully completed a five year commitment to administer Community Interact!, an East Palo Alto Digital Village (EPADV) signature project, which provided subsidized high speed Internet connectivity for over 50 nonprofits & faith organizations in East Palo Alto (EPA) and eastern Menlo Park, an area also known as East of Bayshore

• Implemented awareness building and disability access activities as responsibilities for the WiFi 101 partnership, the newest EPADV signature project that has been awarded a three-year grant from the California Emerging Technology Fund to transform EPA and eastern Menlo Park so that all have broadband access anytime and anywhere – to make available a ubiquitous, affordable, and sustainable broadband system to the East of Bayshore communities

• Convened monthly meetings and other activities of the East Palo Alto Mental Health Advisory Group (EPAMHAG) as contract work for and in collaboration with County of San Mateo Behavioral Health & Recovery Services (BHRS)

• Coordinated planning and implementation of EPAMHAG’s hugely successful 3rd Annual Family Awareness Night, “Healthy Minds: Choices: Families & Community…and How are the Children?,” held on November 19, 2009

• As SMCBHRS contract work, provided fiscal sponsorship and coordination of the East Palo Alto Partnership for Mental Health Outreach, a collaboration with El Concilio of San Mateo County, Free At Last, For Youth By Youth and Pacific Tonga Ma’a  Tonga, USA as implementing/direct service partners,

• Convened and coordinated the East Palo Alto Alcohol Tobacco and other Drugs Steering Committee & Comprehensive Community-wide Prevention Planning Process as contract work for SMCBHRS’ Alcohol and Other Drugs division.

• Applied for and was awarded a multi-year federal Drug Free Communities grant to involve and engage the East Palo Alto community in a comprehensive initiative to prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug abuse among youth.

• Planned and implemented the highly successful 2nd Annual April 3, 2009 “Embracing East Palo Alto Youth” fundraising luncheon underwritten by the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto, which attracted over 200 attendees

• Held OEPA’s 1st 2009 Quarterly Membership Meeting (4/28/09), “Introducing The Barbara A. Mouton Multicultural Wellness Center: A Drop-in, Walk-thru Experience”

• Officially opened The Barbara A. Mouton Multicultural Wellness Center in East Palo Alto on June 30, 2009 and began operating it as a drop-in, self-help center where consumers of mental health services and their families can go to receive support and information, as well as be in community with each other.  OEPA is the lead agency in this initiative and is supported by EPAMHAG and SMCBHRS division partners.

OEPA achieved additional accomplishments through work conducted as part of its core programmatic initiatives (PI). Highlights are listed below by PI area.

Take the Sponsored Employment Project to Scale

• Led the EPACRTF’s Prevention and Alternatives Committee in planning and implementing  the Sponsored Employment Program (SEP) in partnership with JobTrain, College Track and El Concilio of San Mateo County;  continued to spearhead ongoing efforts to take SEP to scale and to develop new year- round activities

• Served as employer of record for Summer 2009 SEP operations, which provided part-time jobs and one-on-one mentoring for 100 EPA youth and young adults ages 14-24 with multiple challenges to employment

• Raised over $180K in support of SEP’s Summer 2009 operations, including a lead sponsor grant from the City of East Palo Alto ($102K), as well as other major grants from San Mateo County Human Services Agency ($30K), the Schwab Charitable Fund for an anonymous donor ($10K), Sequoia Union High School District ($25K), Structural Integrity Associates ($3.5K) and OEPA’s April 3rd “Embracing East Palo Alto Youth” Fundraising Luncheon ($10K)

Build Youth Resilience

• Planned the 2009-2010 convening of the YouthEPA Steering Committee as a part of a comprehensive plan to engage youth in preventing alcohol and drug use among their peers.

• Served as fiscal sponsor of  the East Palo Alto Youth & Young Adults Serving Agencies Consortium, convened monthly meetings of the Youth Consortium and  its Steering Committee

• Led efforts to develop the East Palo Alto Youth and Young Adults Service Agency Consortium’s  “Continuum of Care Network” initiative