Check out the next episode of What’s Good in the Neighborhood!
In our new series, For the Long Run, we’re tackling big issues that won’t be fixed overnight. Today, we talk with Esther Carver and Dan Zack to discuss the obstacles facing affordable housing, the creativity needed to offer different options to people, and the exciting solutions that folks are working on to bring change to the space. This episode is Fresno heavy, and discusses in detail the specific issues we face here in the valley.
Gabrielle PicenoFor the Long Haul – Housing with Esther Carver and Dan Zack
Check out the next episode of What’s Good in the Neighborhood!
Is the church the asset in the neighborhood or is it one of many? Jason Spencer tackles this question head-on as local pastor who has committed to not just being a church in a neighborhood, but a church with the neighborhood, there to empower people in their God-given dignity and the work they’ve been called to do! The trio talk about the difference between outreach and place based focus, leadership development, and the power of being a real partner in the neighborhood and not just a location to attend.
Jason Spencer is the lead pastor of Image Church in Southwest Fresno. Image Church started their community development organization called Generation Changers for kids in their local schools, and also has opened up their property for job skill development.
Gabrielle PicenoA Church With & For the Neighborhood with Jason Spencer
Series 2, Episode 4 of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here!
If you went on our Drive Tour, you heard Chris De Leon talking about the YoVille Community Garden in Southwest Fresno. Chris joins the pod to chat more in depth about the current state of food insecurity in the agricultural capital of America, what kind of dignity we instill in each other and ourselves when we grow our own food, and why the existence of community gardens mean we all thrive.
Gabrielle PicenoSowing Hope: Using Gardens to Create a Better Fresno, with Chris De Leon
Series 2, Episode 3 of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here!
Andrew and Grace are joined on the podcast by Carlos Huerta. Carlos is the Executive Director of the Center for Community Transformation at Fresno Pacific University. The three talk about the economic realities of the Central Valley, the roadblocks that exist for people to get jobs that meet their needs, and the creative options that exist for our community, our churches, and our organizations. Carlos asks the question, what is the faith community’s responsibility to spark innovation in the business sector?
Gabrielle PicenoThe Power of a Job, with Carlos Huerta
Series 2, Episode 2 of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here!
On this episode in our Drive Tour Series, Andrew and Grace sit down with Marcel Woodruff. On Marcel’s part of the Drive Tour, he gives us amazing stories of community members that are dreaming of a healthier thriving in Southwest Fresno. Marcel talks on this episode about the why behind that, what drives him as a community organizer and mentor, and how everyone can start thinking about the neighborhoods that your city has left behind.
Gabrielle PicenoA Bigger Imagination for Southwest Fresno, with Marcel Woodruff
Season 2, Episode #1 of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here!
In our second series on What’s Good In the Neighborhood, we are slowing down and interviewing some of the amazing people who are featured on our new and improved Drive Tour! If you don’t know what the Drive Tour is, how you can take it, or what you’ll be learning about, this episode with our very own Gabrielle Piceno will answer all your questions! To download the app and take the tour, visit VoiceMap HERE.
Learn more about other ENP Audio Drive Tours HERE.
Gabrielle PicenoWhat’s Good in the Neighborhood, Series #2: ENP’s West and Central Fresno Drive Tour, with Gabrielle Piceno
Episode Four of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here!
Andrew and Grace dive into conversation with Kim Contreras, a long-time presence in the urban missions world here in Fresno, CA. In this episode, they discuss working and living missionally in concentrated poverty, what it takes to do it long term, and how to do it without causing harm.
During Kim’s years in Fresno, it has been a deep honor to learn about the city and be changed by that experience through the Lord and her neighbors and friends in the Lowell and Hidalgo communities. As a Trauma Healing Specialist, Kim focuses on equipping the church and community to understand trauma and experience their own healing journey, along with an invitation to participate in outreach to survivors of human trafficking. Two of the accessible tools she utilizes are the Clear-Thinking Solutions method and Trauma Healing Institute healing groups. She can be found with her husband Manuel and their two children, Ian (18) and Sophia (13) sharing an Anaconda burrito from Yareli’s, enjoying good coffee on the steps with their dog Shadow, and playing with their cats, Fuego, Sombra, and Rosa.
Gabrielle PicenoMoving at the Pace of People, with Kim Contreras
Episode Three of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here!
What would it look like to view the people and places around us as gifts, not negatives? In this episode, Andrew and Grace sit down with Joe White, pastor of Neighborhood Church in the historic Jackson Neighborhood of Fresno, CA. Joe is a long time advocate of be a church with the neighborhood, not a church to or for it. Joe reminds us that Jesus is the absolute best news we can give, and the He himself cares about people and places and the thriving of them both.
Gabrielle PicenoYou Can’t Build on Broken, with Joe White
Episode Two of What’s Good in the Neighborhood is here! Subscribe where you get podcasts!
God longs for shalom, and He’s asking us to work towards shalom in our spaces. Every Neighborhood Partnership has adopted the language and frameworks of Christian Community Development to pursue God’s shalom! CCD ideas act as the tide beneath the waves of our work here at Every Neighborhood Partnership. Andrew and Grace sit down with Dina Gonzalez-Pina, who has been a member of the board of the Christian Community Development Association and is currently the director of the Mennonite Central Committee on the West Coast. Dina helps us unpack the eight pillars of CCD philosophy and Andrew and Grace tie it back contextually to our work here at ENP.
Gabrielle PicenoTransforming a Community, with Dina Gonzalez-Pina
This year, Every Neighborhood Partnership (ENP) is celebrating our 15-year anniversary.
As we reflect on the incredible people who have helped us grow, clarified our vision, and partnered with us since the beginning, there aren’t adequate words to express our gratitude. So we’re going to let these thoughts from the ENP team and our partners say it all.
Ashley GoldsmithWhat does 15-years of partnership look like?
