Northwest Neighbors of Pasadena started with a bang. Literally.
A gang-related drug house in the neighborhood was "fire bombed" by a rival gang. The house was completely destroyed. An independent contractor had a vision for restoring the home and the Pratt family, then looking for an urban neighborhood to intentionally relocate into, moved into the home. Tom Pratt began to reach out to his neighbors and to bring partners around him who were interested in a similar type of work.
A community was planted in the Villa Parke area of Pasadena as a result. This group wanted to figure out effective ways of living out its value for justice and reconciliation in its predominantly Latino immigrant community. Through this process, the group experimented with many different types of programs and structures. These included tutoring programs for elementary school-age children, food co-ops, ESL classes, Spanish immersion, transitional housing for young men, different types of Bible studies for adults and youth, both in Spanish and English, and going to many, many neighborhood parties.
The group decided to form a public-benefit non-profit in 1997 to facilitate our programmatic outreach, now called Northwest Neighbors of Pasadena. The non-profit currently focuses on after-school and summer programs for the youth in the Villa Parke area, as well as close mentoring and community opportunities for the teens and young adults. We offer enriching and broadening experiences for the youth in our neighborhood through many local field trips as well as trips to other major cities in the U.S.
Today, Northwest Neighbors continues to strive for a multi-cultural, multi-class community.
A gang-related drug house in the neighborhood was "fire bombed" by a rival gang. The house was completely destroyed. An independent contractor had a vision for restoring the home and the Pratt family, then looking for an urban neighborhood to intentionally relocate into, moved into the home. Tom Pratt began to reach out to his neighbors and to bring partners around him who were interested in a similar type of work.
A community was planted in the Villa Parke area of Pasadena as a result. This group wanted to figure out effective ways of living out its value for justice and reconciliation in its predominantly Latino immigrant community. Through this process, the group experimented with many different types of programs and structures. These included tutoring programs for elementary school-age children, food co-ops, ESL classes, Spanish immersion, transitional housing for young men, different types of Bible studies for adults and youth, both in Spanish and English, and going to many, many neighborhood parties.
The group decided to form a public-benefit non-profit in 1997 to facilitate our programmatic outreach, now called Northwest Neighbors of Pasadena. The non-profit currently focuses on after-school and summer programs for the youth in the Villa Parke area, as well as close mentoring and community opportunities for the teens and young adults. We offer enriching and broadening experiences for the youth in our neighborhood through many local field trips as well as trips to other major cities in the U.S.
Today, Northwest Neighbors continues to strive for a multi-cultural, multi-class community.