ENP Blog

Relentless 2022: 21 Days of Praying and Fasting

December 19, 2021 Alexis Kalugin Partnership Spotlight

Join us along with churches from across Fresno/Clovis for a time of fasting and prayer for our city. See the full schedule for below:

. Monday the 10^thFirst Armenian Presbyterian 430 S 1st St, Fresno, CA 93702

https://www.youtube.com/fapcfresno

2. Tuesday the 11^th Breaking Free Revival Center 3510 N Millbrook Ave, Fresno, CA 93726

https://www.facebook.com/BFreeRC

3. Wednesday the 12^th New Covenant Church 1744 E Nees Ave, Fresno, CA 93720

https://www.newcov.com/

4. Thursday the 13^th New Joy Church 980 Gettysburg Ave, Clovis, CA 93612

https://www.youtube.com/c/NewJoyClovis

5. Friday the 14^th First Presbyterian Church 1540 M St, Fresno, CA 93721

https://www.youtube.com/FirstPresFresno

6. Saturday the 15^th Betel Pastores en Oracion (At Templo Bethel) 148 W Whitesbridge Ave, Fresno, 93706

7. Sunday the 16^th Northpark Community Church 2297 E Shepherd Ave, Fresno, CA 93720

https://www.youtube.com/c/NorthparkCommunityChurchFresno

8. Monday the 17^th Butler Church 4884 E Butler Ave, Fresno, CA 93727

https://www.youtube.com/ButlerChurch

9. Tuesday the 18^th The Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church 1104 Collins Ave, Fresno, CA 93706

https://www.facebook.com/risingstarfresno

10. Wednesday the 19^th Clovis Christian Church 1701 Locan Ave, Clovis, CA 93619

https://www.cloviscc.com/live-stream

11. Thursday the 20^th Mountain View Sunnyside 6175 E Kings Canyon Rd, Fresno, CA 93727

12. Friday the 21^st Crosspoint Church 2518 N Cedar Ave, Fresno, CA 93703

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFZqiPrlcicr1TZ2uXoQ7rg

13. Saturday the 22^nd Family Christian Assembly 535 N Cedar Ave, Fresno, CA 93702

https://www.youtube.com/user/ChristianTemple559

14. Sunday the 23^rd Valley Christian Center 4649 E Shields Ave, Fresno, CA 93726

https://www.youtube.com/c/ValleyChristianCenterFresno

15. Monday the 24^th New Life Community Church Clovis 2165 Gettysburg Ave, Clovis, CA 93611

https://newlifeclovis.squarespace.com

16. Tuesday the 25^th Westside Church of God 1422 W California Ave, Fresno, CA 93706

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87172430432?pwd=V05vUnFwOTgrZW1PR0Z4eklVWm9kUT09

17. Wednesday the 26^th Bethany Church 9161 N Maple Ave, Fresno, CA 93720

https://www.youtube.com/bethanychurchfresno

18. Thursday the 27^th North Fresno Church 5724 N Fresno St, Fresno, CA 93710

https://www.youtube.com/northfresnochurch

19. Friday the 28^th The Church of Tollhouse 27950 Tollhouse Rd, Tollhouse, CA 93667

https://www.churchoftollhouse.org

20. Saturday the 29^th Clovis Hills Church 10590 N Willow Ave, Clovis, CA 93619

https://www.clovishills.com

21. Sunday the 30^th **CELEBRATION** Cornerstone Church 1545 Fulton St, Fresno, CA 93721

https://www.youtube.com/user/cornerstonefresno

If you have any questions comments or concerns please contact Eli 559-288-6279

Reimagine

December 16, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Equipping

From November 10-13, several of our staff members attended the Christian Community Development Association National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. This year’s theme was “Reimagine” and we explored with practitioners from across the country questions like, “What is God calling us to reimagine in our community for His glory?

CalWalks and Southwest Fresno

December 10, 2021 Daniel Dominguez Neighborhood Presence

When trying to get from point A to point B in a safe and speedy fashion, yet finding yourself at a standstill, whether because of a train and/or an overly long red light, this can be quite an inconvenience. Or, could the perceived disruption en route be an opportunity? Unfortunately, in Southwest Fresno, for those who live, work, play, and find themselves more often than not in Southwest Fresno, the disruptions have been evident for far too long.

In light of ENP actively seeking to establish and deepen existing relationships with residents in the 93706 zip code, those most impacted by the lack of streetscape development, we were able to respond to the call for the needed infrastructure improvements.

On July 20, 2021, ENP partnered with Southwest Residents, Fresno Housing, and Fresno County Department of Public Health for a virtual tour led by Cal Berkeley CalWalks of three street segments in Southwest Fresno: A street, California Ave, and Church Ave. Residents were able to share firsthand areas that were missing, in their entirety, basic infrastructure and absolutely in need of infrastructure implementation. The end goal is to establish safe, just, and inclusive streets and public spaces. In the end, the virtual audit was a success! CalWalks was able to provide an extensive report which included an overall project summary and recommendations.

With an established team set in place, ENP will continue working with residents in moving our findings from ideas to tangible and positive changes in Southwest Fresno. Some of those potential projects are as follows:

Affordable Transit Ride Program
- The Project Team recommends that the City of Fresno continue to provide affordable transit options to the community of West Fresno by either sustaining the current program of free transit rides, expanding senior citizen assistance programs to be more inclusive of other demographics, or increasing the age limit for paying riders. As part of its COVID-19 relief, the City of Fresno mandated free transit rides for residents. Participants shared during the training that this temporary relief improved affordability of transit and made necessary travel to grocery stores or parks more accessible. Further, participants expressed that multi-modal transportation is very common in the community.
Walking School Buses or Bike Trains
Slow Streets Programs

Neighborhood Health and Wellness Impact Report

December 7, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Serving Our Neighborhoods

ENP’s Neighborhood Health and Wellness team has been hard at work this year with launching new programs and expanding current ones! Read our Impact Report of our Promotora/Community Health Worker program carried out in partnership with FCHIP (Fresno Community Health Improvement Partnership) to learn more about the strives for holistic health being taken in our community.

DRIVE HUB Highlight: Martin Park

November 30, 2021 Alexis Kalugin HUB Highlight

This week’s HUB Highlight is Martin Park located led by Oscar Rodriguez. We are thankful for their commitment to serving their community, especially through their excellent job of leading a Saturday Sports site at Webster Elementary.

In light of DRIVE, what is the vision for Martin Park in the Webster Neighborhood?

“To connect the social resources to the needs of the community and to build from the core that we are meeting the needs of others by standing in the GAP for generations to come. What change does our community want to see and how can we build a foundation to continue the efforts to bring civil change that will become beneficial.”

How is being a DRIVE HUB in the Webster neighborhood providing an opportunity to engage in your community in a deeper way?

“Drive is providing a template of what has been done for the last 10 years and giving hubs opportunity to not worry about salary and use the gifts that each org has a place at the table and learn from each other.”

How has ENP been of support to you and Martin Park?

“ENP has been willing to walk with us and provide leadership and training to engage the Webster Community. ENP has done the work we are doing and has gone into uncharted territory to stand in the gap and share without bias feedback but with the best interest of having a positive impact and outcome.”

Up to this point, what is 1 thing that you would like to highlight & share with others?

“I would like to share that we have the ability to see impact in many parts of Fresno with the hope to have more hubs with the effort of community members working together to give others the same respect and resources.”

“This photo shows the effort Drive has been helpful to the Webster community by providing and making opportunities for others to get involved. We started with our van being used to transport food boxes and now we have added a trailer because the need has grown. We have seen impact rise as, once we were a community that has been hurt and felt like they have been forgotten to now we are a community who is stepping out to help one another.”

DRIVE Hub Highlight: Generation Changers

November 29, 2021 Alexis Kalugin Equipping, HUB Highlight

Generation Changers in one of our DRIVE Hubs located in the Lincoln neighborhood. It is led none other than our very own Jason Spencer.

In light of DRIVE, what is the vision for Generation Changers in the Lincoln Neighborhood?
- “Our vision is to empower Lincoln residents by teaching sustainable holistic life change, inspiring self-confidence through social interaction and equipping and developing generational leaders. Our goal is to develop a relationship with residents through listening sessions and provide a stage/opportunity for their voice to be heard.”

How is being a DRIVE HUB in the Lincoln neighborhood providing an opportunity to engage in your community in a deeper way?
- “Being a hub in the neighborhood gives us a great opportunity to engage with community assets that serve in the Lincoln neighborhood. These community assets consist of individuals, associations, and institutions. Our goal is to create healthy and sustainable partnerships that can be a resource to our residents.”

How has ENP been of support to you and Generation Changers?
- “ENP is a great support to our organization. ENP has given us a framework to work with through the ABCD approach. This approach is vital to our community engagement strategies. Also, ENP supports us in fulfilling our drive objectives and provides helpful and important resources.”

Up to this point, what is a victory that you would like to share with others?
- “One victory report is our organization has the opportunity to hire 4 part-time employees from the Lincoln neighborhood. Not only is this a first in our organization but now we are providing an economic resource to our neighborhood.”

DRIVE HUB Highlight: Familias en Acción

November 29, 2021 Alexis Kalugin ENP News

This weeks HUB Highlight Familias en Acción in the Winchell Neighborhood led by Lilia Becerril.

In light of DRIVE, what is the vision for Familias en Acción in the Winchell Neighborhood?
- The vision of Familias en Acción is to be able to connect with the majority of the residents in the Winchell neighborhood and to build a strong network of local stakeholders (council-member office, elementary school partners, & local churches). The hope is to build resident and neighborhood capacity to achieve great changes in this community.

How is being a DRIVE HUB in the Winchell neighborhood providing an opportunity to engage in your community in a deeper way?
- The civic infrastructure initiative has given residents the opportunity to feel part of the process that gives them a voice to share their concerns and suggestions for neighborhood improvements.

How has ENP been of support to you and Familias en Acción?
- ENP has supported us in many ways, for example; they provide us with educational work tools for community projects and coaching support to help us grow as leaders.

Up to this point, what is 1 thing that you would like to highlight & share with others?
- We have been meeting with families to provide resources and support on how to advocate for their neighborhood. As a new organization this has been an important part of growth. We are actively trying to connect Winchell residents with their city leaders to have a seat at the table of decision making.

DRIVE Hub Highlight: Jackson CDC

November 25, 2021 Alexis Kalugin ENP News, Equipping, HUB Highlight

Jackson CDC is one of our DRIVE Hub organizations led by Heidi White. Learn about what they do and how being a part of DRIVE has impacted their work.

In light of DRIVE, what is the vision for Jackson CDC in the Jackson Neighborhood?
- Alongside our residents, we seek the cohesive well-being of the Jackson Neighborhood and it’s residents through community engagement, advocacy, and asset-based community development. In this season of work we are intently focused on 4 initiatives. First, we continue to build our resident-led neighborhood association as a way to capacitate neighbors in asset based community development best practices. Second, we assist Jackson Elementary in educational attainment initiatives. Third, we collectively implement resident imagined solutions that impact our neighborhood’s greatest needs. Fourth, we engage in resident-led strategic revitalization that partners with the City of Fresno for systemic change.

How is being a DRIVE HUB in the Jackson neighborhood providing an opportunity to engage in your community in a deeper way?
- Being a DRIVE HUB has enabled us to hire additional staff who are also Jackson resident leaders to support the community development work we are doing in Jackson. This is allowing us to reach wider and deeper in our community through already established networks and relationships. DRIVE is also providing us with the encouragement, tools and support we need as we equip and empower residents to engage in being part of the solutions to the challenges facing the Jackson Neighborhood.

How has ENP been of support to you and Jackson CDC?
- ENP has been helpful to provide training opportunities for our staff and residents, personalized coaching to help us achieve our goals, and they have created regular opportunities for us to connect with and learn from other DRIVE HUBS.

Up to this point, what is 1 thing that you would like to highlight & share with others?
- In the last few months, Jackson residents have been putting forth their best ideas for how to make the Jackson neighborhood a safer, better, and flourishing community. From a list of the top 16 resident-submitted ideas ranging from starting a community garden, to hosting block parties, to doing alley clean-ups, over 150 neighbors voted to focus their attention on making our neighborhood safer through a Safe Streets Initiative. We are in the preliminary stages of gathering resident concerns and their best solutions to tackle the challenges of cars making donuts in our intersections, speeding, and running stop signs. We are currently hosting community meetings and putting out a resident survey to activate all the gifts, skills, and best ideas of our residents to work towards a safer neighborhood. We are partnering with the Fresno Police Department and City Hall to address not just the safety issues facing our current residents, but to consider systemic changes that could be made to ensure future residents are equally safe. Seeing residents use their voices, passions, and skills to enact change in our neighborhood gives us fuel to continue in the work we are doing in the Jackson Neighborhood.

DRIVE Hub Highlight: Fresno Street Saints

November 25, 2021 Alexis Kalugin ENP News, Equipping

This week’s HUB Highlight is Fresno Street Saints located in the King neighborhood and led by Joby Jones.

In light of DRIVE, what is the vision for Fresno Street Saints in the King Neighborhood? When it comes to the DRIVE initiative, our vision for the King neighborhood is to reestablish that sense of being connected but ownership of their communities. Being the catalyst and spark that an individual needs empowering them to take up the responsibility to see change.
How is being a DRIVE HUB in the King neighborhood providing an opportunity to engage your community in a deeper way? Being a DRIVE HUB enables us to engage in the community from a personal standpoint. it’s not about coming to our meetings or events. It is asking them to participate, be involved and speak up for your community.
How has ENP been of support to you and Fresno Street Saints? ENP has been great, the 1-1 meetings, instructions and suggestions have all been valuable to keeping us on point when it comes to understanding what Drive is and what our role is.
Up to this point, what is a victory that you would like to share with others? A victory that we have had is being able to bring on 3 people who are real community people willing to go out and embrace, engage and empower the community.
Why should a church/organization apply to become a HUB within the DRIVE initiative? A church or organization should apply because of the interaction that it brings with the community.

Hub Highlight: Another Level Training Academy

November 22, 2021 Alexis Kalugin ENP News, Neighborhood Presence

We wanted to highlight one of our HUB highlights in the Webster Neighborhood led by Nia Hodge-Grier.

1. In light of DRIVE, what is the vision for Another Level Training Academy in the Webster Neighborhood?

The vision for ALTA is to make lasting relationships in the community, creating spaces for the community to heal by taking ACE’s courses to relate to those who have been marginalized and not heard. ALTA desires to meet the community’s needs by showing members of the community how to leverage the gifts that they possess while allowing them to use their voice and stated needs. ALTA’s goal is to move the community from needing services to creating a vibrant ecosystem within the community they live. We hope that this will become a trend in the community for generations to come.

2. How is being a DRIVE HUB in the Webster neighborhood providing an opportunity to engage in your community in a more profound way?

Being a DRIVE HUB in Webster has challenged ALTA to take a more creative approach to reach residents. ALTA is learning new ways to leverage relationships and connect with organizations amid people hesitant because of COVID. ALTA is connecting with youth in the community through educational institutions to draw the seasoned members of the community to the table. ALTA is learning to lean into this work and allowing the community to lead with what they desire for the community they live.

3. How has ENP been of support to you and Another Level Training Academy?

ENP has been an enormous support to me by leading with transparency and letting me know that we are all learning as we go. In addition, ENP has been good about referring the information on additional training to help ALTA grow in the capacity it needs to serve the community further. I am very comfortable moving into the DRIVE initiative having the support from ENP to help us thrive internally and externally. I am confident that ALTA will continue to thrive with the support of ENP.

4. Up to this point, what is one thing you would like to highlight & share with others?

The Highlight of the DRIVE initiative is the effort being put forth to ensure that this initiative is diverse, inclusive, and practical.