A.F. Evans and Neighborhood Networks: 1 Corporate Philosophy + 1 Initiative Mission = A Dozen Successes

Information by State  Print version   A.F. Evans resident service coordinators participated in the 2008 Neighborhood Networks Regional Technical Assistance Workshop (RTAW) in San Francisco. Pictured are (left to right): Arturo Garcia, Jie Dong, Yvette Stevenson, Sonya Freeman, Anna J. Lewis, Judy Fang, Marcus Montague, Monica Faria, and Alvin Reed.

California—In December 2001, Arthur Evans, founder and president of A.F. Evans Company, Inc. and Evans Property Management, Inc. (EPMI), was named Executive of the Year by Multifamily Executive magazine. In a spotlight article on Evans that appeared in Multifamily Executive, the positive impact A.F. Evans properties have on residents and communities, as well as the benefits residents and communities receive from the neighborhood-specific amenities offered at A.F. Evans properties were showcased. Evans offered the following explanation as to why the company invests above and beyond what is expected in its development properties, "Not only do you build good will in the community, but you build some morale in the company when you do things like that. As a business, the more you're involved in the neighborhood and build your reputation, the more projects and more opportunities that occur. So, it's satisfying and it's also good business sense."

Evans was summarizing a corporate philosophy upon which A.F. Evans was founded in 1977. His words were true then, were still relevant more than seven years ago when he was awarded Executive of the Year, and remain a guiding company principle today. EPMI's commitment to offering socially progressive programs that benefit residents and the local community and enable employees to give back to the community are still a top company priority, making the company an ideal fit with Neighborhood Networks.

Partnerships Are Paramount to Prosperity

This commitment is visible in California, where EPMI operates 12 of the state's 114 Neighborhood Networks centers. Combined, these centers offer more than 3,600 residents living in A.F. Evans affordable housing properties access to more than 80 computers and other valuable resources that are customized to meet residents' needs.

"The key to all of our centers' successes is strategic partnerships," explained Regional Services Coordinator Jie Dong, who along with fellow Regional Services Coordinator Arturo Garcia, co-manages EPMI's team of resident service coordinators. "Arturo and I are always emphasizing to our team that our job is to bring programs to our centers, not provide direct services. Let the experts and trained individuals do that. We do this by identifying what residents need and want, and then forming strategic partnerships with local community businesses and organizations that can deliver those programs. We offer our partners office space right on the property. This makes it easier for our partners to deliver their programs and services, and extremely convenient for our residents to access them."

This strategy appears to be working for Dong and Garcia's team. Neighborhood Networks centers operated by EPMI offer residents and community members access to technology and a variety of programs and services that are helping center users achieve greater academic, professional, and personal success. In addition, of the dozen EPMI-operated Neighborhood Networks centers in California, seven have achieved Certified Neighborhood Networks Center Classification.

"Certainly, our partners have helped us achieve greater success," said Dong. "We are also able to achieve greater success because we all work collectively on programming and operational issues. We are constantly sharing resources and communicating with each other."

A Snapshot of Success

The A.F. Evans family of Neighborhood Networks centers extends the full length of California. Every day, EPMI resident service coordinators are busy forming mutually beneficial partnerships with community businesses and organizations to deliver much-needed programs and services to residents and community members.

"Typically, our centers have numerous partners that help them offer vital programs and services," explained Dong. "We also encourage resident service coordinators to form at least one major partnership that enables them to build a solid foundation of programs and services."

Following are some of the major partnerships that allow A.F. Evans Neighborhood Networks centers to thrive and succeed:

	Up north in the Sacramento area, The Greenery Apartments Neighborhood Networks Center in Woodland and the Cascade Village Neighborhood Networks Center in Sacramento deliver a variety of programs and services to the more than 300 residents living at two, 100 percent affordable, multifamily A.F. Evans properties. Both centers have achieved Certified Neighborhood Networks Center Classification. Opened in 2003, The Greenery Neighborhood Networks Center enjoys a partnership with the Yolo Family Resource Center to offer safe school counseling and case management. The partnership provides the center with a full-time child counselor and a full-time case manager. "The child counselor is on site every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide therapy sessions for youth, parents, and families," explained Dong. "The case manager is also on site every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide advocacy for residents, and to help them find work, create resumes, and apply for student loans. Residents can access these services completely free of charge and without ever having to leave the property." At the Cascade Village Neighborhood Networks Center, which also opened in 2003, Asian Resources, Inc. conducts a variety of career development and job placement programs, and provides a financial literacy class. Because of the large immigrant population served by the center, Asian Resources, Inc. also offers translation support in 16 different languages.
	Just south of The Greenery and the Cascade Village Neighborhood Networks centers is a cluster of five EPMI-operated centers located throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. In Richmond, California, A.F. Evans opened the Monterey Pines Neighborhood Networks Center in 2000. While the Certified Neighborhood Networks center receives support from several community partners, such as the West Contra Costa Adult School that offers General Educational Development (GED) preparation classes and Operation Hope that offers an online financial literacy class, a major center partner is the West Contra Costa School District. Working in collaboration with the school district, the Monterey Pines Neighborhood Networks Center operates the Teacher Next Door Program. Through this program, teachers from the West Contra Costa School District receive a concession on their rent for volunteering two-and-a-half hours a week at the center. "We have one or two teachers helping out with the afterschool program that serves about 35 to 40 students each weekday," reported Alvin Reed, resident service coordinator at the Monterey Pines Neighborhood Networks Center. "The teachers offer homework help, tutoring, and mentoring. Students can also sign up to work with a teacher on Saturdays. We currently have seven teacher-residents, but we have designated 11 of our 324 units for participants in our Teacher Next Door Program." The city of Oakland, California, is home to three A.F. Evans Neighborhood Networks centers. In fact, it was in Oakland that A.F. Evans opened its first Neighborhood Networks center, as well as the first Neighborhood Networks center in the Bay Area, at the Hotel Oakland Computer Learning Center in 1997. Today, the Certified Neighborhood Networks center continues to serve the senior residents living in the 315-unit, 100 percent affordable housing community. "Not only is the center located in a beautiful building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an official Oakland City landmark, but it also offers a variety of computer skills classes for seniors," said Dong. "We have a computer instructor onsite from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday. We also offer an occupational training class."
	The MORH 1 Neighborhood Networks Center, opened in 2000 on site of the 126-unit MORH 1 Apartments, and the Oak Center Neighborhood Networks Center, opened in 1999 on site of the 77-unit Oak Center housing community, are also located in Oakland. Both centers have a strong partnership with Healthy Families, a local nonprofit organization that provides the centers' afterschool program. The MORH 1 Neighborhood Networks Center also partners with the University of California at Berkeley whose students visit the center to offer one-on-one tutoring through the afterschool program. The centers also work closely with various Alameda County agencies. Across the Bay in San Francisco is A.F. Evans' Lassen Neighborhood Networks Center, a Certified Neighborhood Networks center that was opened in 2003. "The Lassen Neighborhood Networks Center has strong partnerships with Asian, Inc. and On Lok," reported Dong. "Asian, Inc. is a nonprofit technical assistance and research organization that works to strengthen the Asian-American community and other minorities in Northern California and to assist in their physical, economic, and social development and independence. The organization provides the center with a computer instructor who conducts weekly computer classes. On Lok is also a nonprofit organization that provides monthly wellness and health presentations." Dong is also working to identify and secure key community partners for a 13th A.F. Evans center, Oceanview Gardens Neighborhood Networks Center in Berkeley, which is in the planning phase.
	Further south and inland in Fresno, California, is A.F. Evans' Bigby Villa, MLK Square, and the Westgate Gardens Neighborhood Networks centers. All three centers have a strong partnership with the Fresno Street Saints, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to "restore southwest Fresno to a safe and healthy community through empowered community leadership; social networks; collaborative partnerships and sustainable, holistic programs." "The Fresno Street Saints run the afterschool programs at all three centers," said Garcia. "The program is offered every weekday after school and includes tutoring and homework assistance. At Bigby Villa Neighborhood Networks Center, Fresno Street Saints volunteers, in partnership with ReadFresno, visit the center two days a week to offer a pre-school age literacy program from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. In the summer, the Fresno Street Saints offer summer programming. Most of the centers' volunteers come from the Fresno Street Saints." The three centers also have a partnership with the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC), which provides snacks for the centers' youth program participants year-round. Last year, Bigby Villa served more breakfasts than any other EOC site in California.
	Just outside Los Angeles is The Plaza Neighborhood Networks Center in San Bernardino, California. Opened in 2003, the Certified Neighborhood Networks center offers a variety of programs and services to the 165 senior residents who call Pioneer Park Plaza "home." According to Dong, the major partner for The Plaza Neighborhood Networks Center is the San Bernardino Adult School, which provides an adult literacy class three days a week.
	A.F. Evans' southernmost center in California is the Woodglen Vista Neighborhood Networks Center in Santee. Opened in 2004 on site of the 188-unit, 100 percent affordable, multifamily housing community of Woodglen Vista, the Certified Neighborhood Networks center has strong partnerships with Home Start and La Maestra Community Health Centers. "One of our strongest partners is Home Start," stated Monica Faria, resident service coordinator for Woodglen Vista Neighborhood Networks Center. "They provide free tax assistance to our residents and financial literacy classes. They also conduct outreach for their Reach for the Heights! Family Self-Sufficiency program, which helps families move from welfare to work by offering employment development, placement, and ongoing support services. Home Start also offers residents access to their Optimal Health and Development Services. Having Home Start as a partner has been a great resource. We also work with La Maestra, a local nonprofit organization that serves low-income and immigrant communities. La Maestra provides health care professionals who visit the center to conduct breast and cervical cancer awareness workshops."

For more information about Neighborhood Networks centers in California, contact:

Donald Freeman
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Los Angeles Multifamily Hub
611 West Sixth Street, Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 534-2622

Diana C. Mann
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
San Francisco Multifamily Hub
600 Harrison Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 489-6647

Unetha G. Norman
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Sacramento Multifamily Program Center
John E. Moss Federal Building
650 Capitol Mall, Room 4-200
Sacramento, CA 95814-4723
(916) 498-7390

Martha G. Picasso
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
San Francisco Multifamily Hub
600 Harrison Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 489-6650

For more information about A.F. Evans Neighborhood Networks centers in California, contact:

Jie Dong
Regional Resident Service Coordinator
A.F. Evans
7600 Fruitridge Road
Sacramento, CA 95820
916-230-6240

Arturo Garcia
Regional Resident Service Coordinator
A.F. Evans
830 E. Belgravia Ave
Fresno, CA 93706
(559) 246-9666