This study has illustrated the extensive needs and deficiencies of the Roseville area. The problems are many, encompassing needs within the areas of economic, human, and physical development. The degree to which these problems exist is also great: unemployment rates are high; high school graduation rates are low; drugs and crime are large problems; and incomes are small.
However, there are signs of beginning revitalization in the Roseville area since HDC was established there in 1991. Drug-related activity has lessened to some degree, community gardens are beginning to beautify the area, and city government is becoming more responsive to unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Other less-noticeable but equally important improvements are the increases in voter registration, youth activities, and Hispanic cultural activities in the Roseville area. HDC has been instrumental in effecting most of these improvements (HDC Annual Report 1993; Nieto, various communications; survey respondents).
The commitment of HDC to assist in Roseville's revitalization, along with the other local resources identified by this study, indicate that further revitalization of the area is possible. HDC is anxious to expand its role in Roseville. To best serve the revitalization process, HDC should attempt to be as comprehensive as possible in the future when approaching development issues. While HDC is likely to emphasize housing in the near future, it should be cautious not to abandon the program initiation and advocacy/organizing roles to which it has thus far been committed. HDC should continue to focus on other than merely housing-related concerns (e.g., education and job skills training). HDC should also continue to play a major role in organizing and advocating around these concerns.
HDC's strength to date has been its inclusiveness both in terms of issues and community input. Its ability to address a range of issues is impressive, and its accomplishments through program initiation and advocacy have been many. HDC's director recognizes the importance of a comprehensive community development strategy, by emphasizing the importance of promoting education among local residents. HDC has encouraged community input on issues that are of great concern to local residents (e.g., housing code enforcement). Community input has also been encouraged by HDC's open office hours, its bi-weekly meetings (where attendance runs from about ten to twenty people), and, more recently, through the neighborhood survey.
As stated above, the survey indicates that there is considerable interest among Roseville residents in becoming more involved with HDC's activities. Of those surveyed, 80.2 percent said they would "like to become more involved with activities that the Hispanic Development Corporation is working on." The survey process itself seemed to generate new interest among residents in becoming more involved in efforts to improve their community.
Future Role for HDCThe capability and commitment that HDC has demonstrated thus far, combined with the potential for increased involvement of local residents, indicate that there is considerable potential for continued revitalization of the Roseville area. HDC must now set priorities for the future that will best serve the revitalization process.
The following are general recommendations to guide HDC in determining its future priorities. HDC should:
One way for HDC to have a considerable impact on the revitalization process (and to be consistent with the above recommendations) would be for HDC to set up an information/referral center in Roseville. Some of the functions that could be undertaken by an information/referral center include:
An information/referral center could make particularly good use of scarce local resources. It could refer residents to locally available programs and facilities, particularly those that are currently underutilized. By giving information and referral services, rather than providing actual programs, the center could minimize its tasks and its funding needs. Through extensive knowledge of existing programs, it could avoid duplication of resources by pursuing new programs and projects only where truly necessary. The center could also encourage expansion of some programs so that these programs would better serve local residents. The Roseville center could make further good use of existing resources by initially utilizing existing space within either the Armory building or the West Ward Cultural Center. Also, by serving a unique and important purpose, an information/referral center could be well-positioned to receive considerable funding.
An information/referral center could be inclusive of a wide variety of issues and services. Information and services not directly provided by the center could be addressed by referral to existing services. The center could continually broaden its concerns by: a) lobbying for additional services that are not available to Roseville residents; and b) continuing to add to its information base.
An information/referral center could encourage the involvement of local residents simply by having an open-door policy for them. As a place that welcomes neighborhood residents, it could allow ongoing input from residents concerning issues that the center could address. Including residents' input when determining the center's priorities could encourage further involvement of residents in the center's activities. The center could serve Hispanic concerns, while maintaining an inclusive, neighborhood-oriented role as its primary mission. Hispanics have particular needs, with the lack of English language proficiency being one root source of problems. Historically, Hispanics have been underserved and neglected by institutional resources, depriving them of their fair share of government representation, services, and aid. The center could provide language- and culturally sensitive problem-solving approaches for Hispanics. At the same time, by being inclusive of a broad range of concerns, the center would not be in danger of excluding non-Hispanic residents.
The center could also encourage the use and involvement of local organizations, institutions, and resources in community-building activities. HDC's priorities, and Roseville's revitalization process, will depend the willingness and capacity of local organizations, institutions, and individuals to become involved in the community revitalization process. The availability of local physical and program resources will also be an important factor. As Kretzmann & McKnight emphasize, community revitalization should entail building on a community's strengths in order to meet its needs (1993). This model suggests the building of relationships among local institutions, organizations, and individuals, and the use of local capacity--physical, institutional, organizational, and other resources--to create community revitalization.
There are several ways in which an information/referral center could encourage the involvement and use of local organizations, institutions, and resources. These include: a) informing residents about existing local resources; b) assisting residents in accessing local resources; c) facilitating promotion of the services of local organizations; d) encouraging cooperation among local organizations; and e) enhancing local resources through advocacy efforts and requests for funding. Many of Roseville's physical and institutional resources that have considerable potential to contribute to the community revitalization process are discussed in Appendix 4. Maps 3 and 4 identify vacant land in Roseville, which is another significant physical resource. From the residents' standpoint (i.e., through the community survey), local organizations with significant potential for assisting in community-building activities include local churches, hospitals, the police department, school PTAs, and also HDC. The center could also encourage the formation of new organizations, such as block or neighborhood associations.
HDC has already been engaged, to a large degree, in the types of activities characteristic of an information/referral center. For instance, HDC has assisted residents with job training and job referral services; facilitated the participation of Hispanic residents in local youth activities; informed local residents of their rights as tenants; provided ESL training; organized a neighborhood crime watch project; and generally acted in the capacity of assisting residents in a variety of dealings with local organizations and institutions. HDC has had considerable success with these activities. With sufficient funding, HDC could expand its role in these and similar types of activities. The ongoing technical assistance available from NCC could also serve to greatly enhance HDC's ability to act in an information/referral capacity.
One particular strategy that HDC could pursue for establishing an information/referral center would be to initially set up in an existing building. The Armory is perhaps the facility best-suited for this purpose. Funding could be solicited for staffing, equipment, general office supplies, technical assistance, and some program initiation. Additional funding could be solicited for construction of a new facility, once evidence of the project's worth could be shown, and once the center is deemed ready for expansion.
The survey results could be used to guide the initial emphasis of the center. The survey indicates that area residents' priorities include: computer classes; job skills training; after school programs; ESL training; GED workshops; family counseling; programs for the elderly; and recreation. The center could focus on referral to existing programs of this type. It could engage in provision of services only where necessary, and where funding is available. (See Appendix 6 for a listing of NJ Department of Human Services contacts regarding potential funding and sponsorship of certain programs.) The center's effectiveness could be continually strengthened by soliciting the ongoing input of local residents.
Other specific activitiesThe community survey provides considerable insight into determining other specific priorities as well for HDC's role in community revitalization. Strong survey responses concerning the need for affordable housing, a community center, and recreational facilities in Roseville indicate that these should be priorities for HDC.
Areas where HDC could expand its advocacy efforts are suggested by the survey questions concerning "how actively involved" certain organizations are in improving the community. Residents responded that they are most concerned that city government, police, and youth organizations do not do enough to improve the neighborhood. Use of these results by HDC could entail expansion of its advocacy role to demand that these organizations respond more effectively to the area's problems. HDC has already demonstrated its ability to act effectively in this type of role.
HDC should also use its advocacy/organizing role to increase voter registration in Roseville. The voter registration campaign has been very successful thus far, encouraging at least 100 local residents to register since the campaign began. Yet the survey results revealed that there is a need for much greater efforts in this area: 37.6 percent of respondents indicated that they are currently not registered voters. Particular groups that should be targeted by an ongoing campaign are: those eighteen to twenty-five year-olds, of whom 78.6 percent are not registered; and Hispanic residents, of whom 57.7 percent are not registered. Voter registration is a particularly crucial issue. If demands on politicians to focus greater attention on the area are to be effective, they must be backed up by a significant voting constituency.
The survey results indicate that residents see among the primary neighborhood problems: drugs; trash and litter; violent crime; theft and vandalism; and poor police protection. If HDC is to focus its activities on residents' priorities as indicated by the survey, it should expand its neighborhood crime watch and neighborhood cleanup initiatives.
Neighborhood cleanup initiatives are beneficial for many reasons: they produce immediate, visible improvements in neighborhood quality; they are relatively low-cost projects; they provide interaction between neighbors, working together in an activity where language differences are relatively unimportant; and they bring intangible rewards, such as community pride and a sense of accomplishment. (Similar benefits can result from creating "tot lots," and from community garden projects.) Another good reason to make neighborhood cleanup a priority is the potential for assistance from city government. The city's Department of Neighborhood Services is planning to increase code enforcement and to conduct more frequent neighborhood cleanup activities. Efforts to organize neighborhood cleanups and advocacy of improvements in problem properties could be particularly successful if supported by these government services. By showing a commitment to improving their neighborhood, local residents can also lend legitimacy to demands that government be more responsive.
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