All Peoples Community Center has been named a Family Resource Center by the City of Los Angeles, an honor that comes with an $800,000 annual grant and a mandate to increase both family income and academic achievement in the South LA neighborhood it has long served.
“We are proud, humbled, and deeply aware of the heavy responsibility that comes with this award,” said Director Saundra Bryant. “But it aligns with our mission. It is what we do. And we have been doing it since 1942. We will make it happen.”
Bryant has named Julio Ramos, 26-year All Peoples veteran, to be Director of the Family Source Center initiative. “We can’t wait to get started,” said Ramos, “and we are in the process of hiring 16 new staff members to meet our commitments to the city and to the neighborhood.”
Ramos and team will serve a minimum of 2500 individuals during the year, and will work intensively with 375 of them to meet ambitious program goals. Delivering on these is a requirement, as the city will review All Peoples’ performance before awarding another $800,000 next year, as well as potential grants through 2021.
All Peoples will be building on an already impressive track record of community service. Last year, the center offered over 20 programs to an average of 400 people a day, six days a week, at its premises just southwest of downtown Los Angeles. All this with a staff of 23 that leverages relationships with other non-profit agencies, as well as 450+ senior volunteers.
In the proud tradition of its name, All Peoples has long embraced everyone who comes through its doors. Since 1942, the center has been the very heart of a community, roughly defined by the 90011 zip code, that has changed from Japanese-American to African-American to Latino today.
“We will continue to earn the trust of our community,” promised Director Bryant, “our work has just begun.”
