Recently, 25 parents gathered at Futures and CUES Elementary School at the Havenscourt-Lockwood campus in East Oakland for a special graduation. Instead of kids, the graduates were parents who completed an eight-week program designed to help them support the academic success of their children as they get ready to enter kindergarten.

The graduation was the culmination of this year’s Havenscourt Parent University, just one example of how the Healthy Havenscourt Collaborative unites residents, community- and faith-based organizations, government and others in the work of building a stronger and healthier neighborhood. Launched in 2015 by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), Healthy Havenscourt addresses the many interconnected social, economic and environmental factors that contribute to poverty and poor health in the historically neglected neighborhood.

At EBALDC, we know that high-quality, affordable housing is core to ensuring that residents of communities like Havenscourt can remain in their neighborhoods and be a part of their revitalization. EBALDC first got involved in Havenscourt as part of its broader efforts to help build healthy, vibrant and safe neighborhoods across Oakland and the East Bay. In collaboration with key partners, we opened Lion Creek Crossings in 2006. This mixed-use affordable housing project includes 567 multifamily and senior rental units for low- and moderate-income individuals and families.

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But housing is just the start. We also need to strengthen infrastructure in the community in ways that support our youngest residents and their families. This includes programs providing childcare, college and career pathways for youth, and workforce development opportunities. That’s what Collaborative programs like the Havenscourt Parent University aim to do.

The parent program was adapted from United Way Bay Area’s two-generation framework. It serves the specific needs of the community, with financial preparedness courses from SparkPoint Oakland, sessions led by Head Start, and other training. During the program, facilitators sparked lively conversations in four spoken languages and had childcare onsite. This whole-family approach is representative of the holistic support that Healthy Havenscourt provides to the neighborhood.

The challenges facing Havenscourt have been clear for years. Once a thriving African American community called the “Home Place Beautiful,” the neighborhood was hit hard by out-migration and disinvestment over the past several decades. Today, Havenscourt residents experience some of the highest levels of poverty in the Bay Area. The unemployment rate for the neighborhood is 16 percent, compared to 11 percent for all of Oakland.

The bottom line is that Havenscourt residents face massive barriers to health and well-being. Asthma is a particular problem; the Havenscourt zip code has the third highest rate of asthma-related emergency room and hospital admissions in Oakland. African American residents are four times as likely to visit the ER due to asthma compared to Alameda County residents. It’s no wonder: According to the Alameda County Health Department, Havenscourt is one of the Oakland communities facing the highest levels of pollution.

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Despite these challenges, Havenscourt residents and organizations are committed to building a vibrant neighborhood, planting seeds for broader, lasting change. Community members and residents are working together to reduce chronic absenteeism in schools, spur local economic development, connect residents to workforce development opportunities and more.

They can’t do it alone. Now, more than ever, residents, community organizations and public institutions across sectors must work together to address the economic and social inequities growing in Oakland and across the Bay Area.

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Joshua Simon is executive director of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, Charise Fong is the organization’s chief operating officer. For more information, visit www.ebaldc.org.