In his SCC Forum article
, Why SCC Employs Community Organizers, SCC President Van Hardy explains why organizing staff are so vital to ensuring economic equity in a community. He writes, "Not everyone has equal access to power. When policy decisions are made at the local, state or federal level, those that have access to power influence the outcomes. Those without power become victims. Economic inequality and access to power are intertwined.
The job of an SCC organizer is to level the playing field."
Members of the Somerville Community Corporation gathered on the sprawling front lawn of SCC's award-winning Saint Polycarp Village on Mystic Avenue in late August for the 2017 Member Picnic.
Somerville Community Corporation is working to make our City a better community for everyone. And as SCC President Van Hardy states in his piece
Why SCC Employs Community Organizers, we are especially "
committed to addressing the needs of those on the margins of our community."
This issue of SCC eNews looks at our work to help the City's low and moderate residents achieve financial stability -- from the recent groundbreaking of affordable condos in East Somerville to a new culinary arts training project through the First Source Jobs Program.
The First Source Jobs Program is currently recruiting participants for a new five-month
culinary arts job training program. Graduates will be prepared to enter the workforce as line cooks, prep cooks, restaurant chefs, grill cooks, assistant cooks and other culinary service positions. Program participants have the opportunity to earn college credit at Bunker Hill Community College.
All training at Somerville Ccmmunity Corporation is free, and participants who continue to BHCC may be eligible for free tuition through Pell Grants.
SCC Breaks Ground for Glen Street Affordable Condos
SCC held a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, September 9th for new construction of affordable condominiums at 163 Glen Street, East Somerville.
The project by SCC and co-developer Doug George is an adaptive reuse of an old American Legion Post in East Somerville and is the first purpose-built affordable homeownership condominium construction in Somerville in more than a decade.
A unique feature of the project is that, other than the traditional construction loan from East Boston Savings Bank, it is being financed exclusively from the City of Somerville with funds made available through the Community Preservation Act.
The formation of the Union Square Neighborhood Council is an opportunity for people who are affected by redevelopment to come together with their neighbors and act in the interest of the community.
Learn what it is, why we need it, and how you can get involved.
This is the time to make your pledge to SCC through the Social Equity Campaign in order to be eligible for the 2017 Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC). You'll get 50% of your donation back as a state tax refund or credit (plus the deduction from your federal taxes). Read more.
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