Mid City Redevelopment Alliance Inc

MID CITY REDEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE'S MISSION IS TO DEVELOP AND PROMOTE THE GROWTH AND REVITALIZATION OF MID CITY BATON ROUGE BY ATTRACTING NEW AND RETAINING CURRENT RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES. THE PROPOSED VISTA PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE FOLLOWING CNCS' PRIORITY AREAS: 1. DISASTER SERVICES (HELP COMMUNITIES RECOVER FROM THE 2016 FLOODS), 2. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY (ADDRESS HOUSING, FINANCIAL LITERACY, AND EMPLOYMENT NEEDS), 3. EDUCATION (SUPPORT STUDENTS FROM CRADLE-TO-CAREER), AND 4. HEALTHY FUTURES (PROVIDE HEALTH-FOCUSED ASSISTANCE AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION). WITH TWENTY VISTA MEMBERS CONDUCTING OUTREACH, RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS, DEVELOPING PROGRAMS AND ENGAGING LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS, WE EXPECT TO BENEFIT OVER 200 PEOPLE.

MID CITY REDEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE (MCRA) WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1991 AND TASKED WITH REVITALIZING BATON ROUGE'S MID CITY REGION. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, MCRA HAS ACTIVELY WORKED ALL OVER THE MID CITY AREA, CITY OF BATON ROUGE, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, AND CAPITAL AREA REGION. AS THE ORGANIZATION ESTABLISHED A MAINTAINED A REPUTATION OF GOOD FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, VARIED AND STRONG COLLABORATION, AND A COMMITMENT TO MISSION-DRIVEN WORK, THE ORGANIZATION WAS CALLED ON BY MANY TO CONSIDER WORKING OUTSIDE OF ITS GEOGRAPHIC AREA. HOLDING FIRM TO ITS MISSION, THE ORGANIZATION RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO CREEP AWAY FROM ITS INITIAL TASK OF REVITALIZING MID CITY. TWO THINGS HAVE FURTHER CHALLENGED THE ORGANIZATION IN RECENT MONTHS: CHARTER DESIGNATION BY NEIGHBORWORKS AMERICA AND THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2016. MCRA'S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: THE HOME OWNERSHIP CENTER (CERTIFIED HOUSING AND COUNSELING AGENCY); FIXUP! MID CITY (BATON ROUGE'S LARGEST ALL-VOLUNTEER HOUSING REPAIR PROGRAM); NEIGHBORGRANTS, (MATERIAL GRANTS PROGRAM TO RESIDENTS FOR PROPERTY IMPROVEMENT); RESIDENT LEADERSHIP CIRCLE (COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND EMPOWERING EFFORT TO BUILD LEADERSHIP FOR RESIDENT LED IMPROVEMENTS), AND THE MID CITY LEGACY EVENT (OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER THAT ALSO RECOGNIZES AN INDIVIDUAL AND A GROUP FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORK OF MCRA AND TO THE MID CITY REGION) MAKEUP WHAT WE ARE DOING. BUT WHO WE ARE IS STILL A QUESTION. IN 2015, WHO MCRA IS BECAME A LOT CLEARER. MCRA HAS NOW BEEN DESIGNATED BY NEIGHBORWORKS AS A CHARTERED MEMBER OF ITS 250-MEMBER NETWORK OF EXCELLENCE. THIS ACHIEVEMENT IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE NEIGHBORWORKS IS THE PREMIER NATIONAL ENTITY FOR COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION WORK. MCRA IS NOW ITS BATON ROUGE HUB. THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2016 OCCURRED IN AUGUST AND IT LEFT THE GREATER BATON ROUGE AREA OVERWHELMED BY DAMAGES THAT NO ONE COULD HAVE EVER ANTICIPATED FROM FLOODING IN OUR AREA. THE MID CITY AREA OF BATON ROUGE DID NOT FLOOD. OUR 25-YEAR HISTORY, STRONG NETWORK, AND STELLAR REPUTATION CAUSED US TO ACTIVATE NONETHELESS. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING IN THE DISASTER RECOVERY SPACE, ALONG WITH OUR NORMAL OPERATIONS EVER SINCE. THIS DISASTER, WHILE DEVASTATING IN ITS IMPACT ON SO MANY IN OUR AREA, PROVIDES MCRA WITH THE OPPORTUNITY AND IMPETUS TO STEP FORWARD AND RESPOND IN A WAY THAT PROVIDES A BATON ROUGE FOCUS (NOT JUST A MID CITY FOCUS) FOR GOING FORWARD. WE NEED AND ARE READY TO BE A PART OF THE LONG-TERM RECOVERY SOLUTION FOR OUR CITY. WITH OVER 60,000 RESIDENCES TAKING ON WATER DURING LAST MONTH?S EVENT, WE AND MANY MORE ARE NEEDED TO HELP THE MANY LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME FAMILIES REBUILD THEIR LIVES THAT NOW HAVE HUGE GAPS IN THE ABILITY TO RECLAIM THEIR HOMES AS A PRIMARY RESIDENCE. WE INTEND TO INTEGRATE OUR VISTA PROJECT INTO THIS CRITICAL WORK WHICH IS CRITICAL TO OUR REGION AT THIS TIME. OUR PROJECT, LIKELY TO LAUNCH WITH 12 CORPS MEMBERS, IS EXPECTED TO EXPAND TO 20 CORPS MEMBERS. MCRA WILL FORM A COLLABORATIVE NETWORK AMONG 10-20 LOCAL NON-PROFITS WHO ARE ALL WORKING THROUGH VERY SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONAL CROSSROADS IN MISSION EFFORT AND DISASTER RECOVERY EFFORT.

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