The
Community Coalition was formed in 1990 in response to the various problems
associated with trafficking and consumption of crack cocaine. The Community
Coalition’s mission is to contribute toward transforming the social
and economic conditions in South Los Angeles that foster addiction, crime,
violence and poverty by building a community institution capable of involving
thousands of people in creating, influencing, and changing public policy.
In thirteen years, the Coalition has grown from a budget of $350,000 to
$1,800,000. Coalition staff has grown from five full time staff members
to 26 full time
and 7 part time staff. Coalition members are South Los Angeles African
American and Latino neighborhood residents (3,500 individuals). Organizational
members
of the Community Coalition are South Los Angeles social service agencies
(150 agencies).
The Community Coalition is composed of three projects dedicated to changing public policy through grassroots organizing and leadership development. Neighborhoods Fighting Back (NFB) utilizes city land use ordinances and policies as a strategy to prevent, reduce, and eliminate sources of crime. The Prevention Network (PN) is a multidisciplinary alliance of social service providers in South Los Angeles working to build a strong social safety net...