The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative , or DSNI, is a nonprofit, community-run organization based in Roxbury, Massachusetts. It was established in 1984 by residents of Dudley Street Neighborhood, along with members of the Riley Foundation, in an effort to rebuild a poverty stricken community around Dudley Square. This organization is known as the first and only community-run grassroots organization to gain "dominant domain power" by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which means communities control their own development and land use. Today, 35 boards of directors help to organize more than 3,000 active members of DSNI. The board of directors is elected by the locals every two years, and should represent the four major ethnic groups of the community: African Americans, Cape Verde, Latin and White, as well as local youth, businesses, non-profit organizations, churches and CDCs who support the initiative.
Video Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative
Sejarah awal
In the 1960s, the community that once lived around the Dudley Street Area in Roxbury, Massachusetts, had "deteriorated into one of the poorest in Boston", swamped by toxic waste disposal and abandoned homes. Throughout the 1970s, communities became increasingly damaged by the negligence and "divestment" of Boston's financial institutions, and by the 1980s, "more than a fifth of the land in the neighborhood was empty". Those who live and work in society get angry at the lack of attention the poor environment receives from its nearest neighbor in Boston.
In 1984, Nelson Merced worked at Dudley Street as director of La Alianza Hispana, a nonprofit that advocated success in the Hispanic community. At that time, the Dudley Street Neighborhood was populated by many Hispanics, African Americans, Jews, and other poor minorities, many of whom were unable to live elsewhere. Merced began to raise funds to renovate the La Alianza Hispana building in the spring of 1984 when he reached the Boston-based Riley Foundation, which provided grants to organizations in the city. Mercedes's hope is that she can give Riley's trustees a tour to Dudley Square to gain their support in improving the area.
On April 12, 1984, the four trustees of the Riley Foundation agreed to visit Nelson Merced and Dudley Street Environments. One of the guardians, Newell Flather, later stated that Dudley was "the most disadvantaged area in the city," and the other, Robert Holmes, describes the empty land he saw as "negative space." A damaged neighborhood tour is enough to convince the Riley Foundation to help the community. Discussions began between the foundation and Merced, along with other community organizational leaders.
Later that year, on September 17, 1984, the Riley Foundation invited Dudley's organization leader to a meeting to discuss the next potential steps in rebuilding the community. The group created the "Dudley Advisory Group", which chose to establish its own organization almost a month later on October 15, 1984. The Dudley Street Environmental Initiative was born.
Maps Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative
Missions
According to Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative's Mission Statement, The DSNI "seeks to organize, plan, create and control a vibrant, high-quality and diverse environment in collaboration with community partners." Every DSNI plan to improve the environment is created for its inhabitants, by its inhabitants. He believes that his ultimate achievement has empowered his population to take control over the development and maintenance of the environment, and wants to continue to strive for the individual, as well as the empowerment of the wider community.
DSNI Goal
- Educational improvement
- Construction and rehabilitation of new homes
- Economic development to create more jobs and increase the overall income of citizens
- Continue to empower citizens
Programs and Projects
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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