Welcome to Vermont Village CDC

Vermont Village Community Development Corporation
“To Restore, Rebuild and Repair our community”

Vermont Village Community Development Corporation’s mission is to develop a new community image, spirit, and atmosphere.

We will develop business and community development projects and programs that maximize economic development opportunities for community residents by promoting prosperity.

Vermont Manchester Public & Neighborhood Safety Collaborative history was formed by community stakeholders, led by co-chair Father David O’Connell and Commander Pat Gannon, to specifically address public safety concerns plaguing the local community. Uniquely, the Vermont-Manchester community is bordered by both the county and the city of Los Angeles and is served by the Southeast and 77th LAPD Precincts, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. It is home to the schools and community-based organizations that serve large numbers of youth on probation, in foster care, and not in traditional high school. We still help to promote a healthier community by reducing gang violence and crime. More than 15 partners, including faith-based, public and private stakeholders which have established 77th street police dept. foot patrol; coordinated school release schedules of (YOU, Alternative High, Augustus High Schools).
 
The 2008 Action Plan includes, but is not limited to the following:
  • Establish School Safe Zone & Signage & Safe Passages
  • Develop video/camera surveillance plan in and around the target area
  • Expand outreach efforts (Business watch, merchants, etc)
  • Increase safety within the target community-expand safe passage in and around the target area
  • Build neighborhood cohesiveness by developing, supporting neighborhood improvement activities; engage youth and parents; work with current and former gang-involved youth, and young adults.

Public safety is a regional problem that has expanded to include the following: (LAPD), religious community forum, federal bureau of investigation (FBI) and (GRYD) Gang Reduction and Youth Development Project.

Domestic Violence and Batterers Prevention Training

VVCDC and its collaboration seeks to offer four Mental Health training programs:

(1) Vermont Corridor Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign

(2) Domestic Violence Prevention Program,

(3) Batterers & Perpetrator Intervention and

(4) Vulnerable Transitional Age Youth (TAY). 

Vermont Corridor Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign is an outreach and engagement program for our neighbors in SPA 6 and the surrounding area which will engage families in the domestic violence dialogue regarding the impact this unlawful and abusive behavior has on families, children, and teens.  These negative impacts include normalization and generational recurring domestic violence, arrest, incarceration, increased school drop out rates, lower educational attainment and graduation rates and inter-generational poverty.

Training Course Overviews

The following training overview prescribes why and what we do, by running concurrent trainings in the following areas to meet the demand for service. 3 tiers of training, three sessions a year 10-20 participants per sessions to fulfill this plan for 60 clients.   

  • Domestic Violence Intervention Program will help reduced the number of reported cases of DV by promoting health and wellness through interactive group training and workshops that address the crisis, symptoms, and risk factors of DV perpetrators. This illness of psychological control, threatening, verbal abuse, isolation and misuse of another individual or family’s basic freedoms can be treated before escalating into physical harm or even death. Many surveyed by the Black Leadership Survey report of 2017, claim that, “DV clients identify systemic oppression as the most significant causes of domestic violence. Economic stress, childhood trauma and experiences with violence, followed by substance abuse and racism were the next most cited causes of domestic violence in communities and family leaders.” More individualized factors like anger management issues, sexism, poor self-esteem or jealousy ranked, rather high also. Our domestic violence class addresses the abuser or abused, we offer techniques to help diffuse an abusive situation and empowers those involved with a self-defense mechanism and other legal remedies or consequences for not acting on the situation.
  • Batterer & Perpetrator Treatment and Intervention, unlike Domestic Violence has now reached a level physical violence requiring a more rigid method of training, specific to harm and endangering the life of another. Our research-based curriculum for both voluntary and court-mandated individuals which meets the requirements of California Penal Code 1203.097, used to assist batterers. This batterer’s intervention training, generally occurs 26 or 52-week curriculum’s, depending on the severity of the case. Our training methods will help a perpetrator, eliminate or control a violent nature, managing emotions, roles in relationships, gender roles, socialization, power and control and the impact of this type of violence on children, if any. Promoting the use of effective communication methods, appropriate conflict de-escalation and resolution techniques. Batterers training will help individuals understand the dynamics of emotional, physical, and psychological, sexual, financial, and child trauma this brings on the family.
  • Vulnerable Transitional Age Youth (TAY) curriculum is for individuals aged 16-25 who, have been or currently, are involved with the Juvenile Court System, DCFS and/or are homeless. We assess the functional and behavioral strengths and deficits of each participant from a perspective that is age appropriate in order to provide group, age and gender specific training that focuses on teaching and mentoring to improve physical, mental, social, and emotional wellbeing. Our Instructors have a solid understanding of the intricacies of age and gender grouping and they are proficient at engaging them both effectively and efficiently.  Each participant will be treated with respect and individuals will receive services tailored to their personal situational needs.  A customized plan will be developed to strengthen their abilities to cope and their outlook towards the future, and throughout the process each participant will be provided positive goals and incentives.      

 Implementation Strategy:

 The Global Assessment of Individual Needs Q-3 (GAIN) tools will be utilized in the intake and evaluation of each program participant.  The confidential information collected will be utilized to identify and address a wide range of concerns including, physical and mental health, stress, risk behaviors, and life satisfaction.   Assessments are private as well as confidential, and all staff with access to them understand the need for the restrictions on sharing and disclosure of client information.

 Vermont Corridor Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign   

Outreach & Marketing

The goal of the outreach and engagement program is to attract individuals from our rather large church community as well as our neighbors in SPA 6 and the surrounding areas. We will engage families in domestic violence dialogue regarding the impact on families and this unlawful, abusive behavior has on families, children, and teens. Of critical importance is that we provide a safe and secure haven on the grounds of Crenshaw Christian Center which encourages and enables, free, open, and candid dialogue without fear or intimidation. Being a long-standing member of the predominantly African-American and Latino communities, families residing within SPA 6, will be informed by using cultural, relevance and sensitivity to the needs of our neighborhood.   

We have developed large and diverse data bases for social media and emails.  However in order to create a buzz and reach individuals who do not utilize such mediums, our savvy communicative methodologies will also use conventional bench ads, newspapers and flyers in a very wide variety of local community spaces and settings that include but are not limited to: Community Mental Health Clinics, DPSS & DCFS Offices, DHS Clinics, Wellness Centers, Churches, Board and Cares, Schools, Parks, Transitional and Half-way Houses, Battered Partner Shelters, Churches, Barber Shops, Hair/Nail Salons, and other places people traditionally gather or congregate.  

Preparing New Achievers for Tomorrow
Funded through the Community Foundation of Los Angeles

This two year program for creating extracurricular activities for low-income youth through the Children’s Collective Incorporated organization, Rita Waters Recreation Center is in Service Planning Area 6, the 0 – 17 population consists of 398,856 individuals. Based on ethnicity the breakdown is as follows: 71.8% – Hispanic/Latino, 26.1% – Black, 1.3% – White, 0.7% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 0.1% – American Indian/Alaskan Native. Within in this population we are targeting children between the ages of 13 and 17. Our goal is to enroll 35 youth, which are at least in the 9th grade, with at least 8 youth coming from our target high schools.

July 2014 to September 2014 – Outreach and recruitment
November 2014 – Program Orientation
January 2015 to June 2016 – Program in Operation

Since 2007, we have worked with Soledad Enrichment Academy (SEA) and Youth Opportunities Unlimited Alternative High School (YOU); and since 2011 we have worked with Augustus Hawkins High School. At these schools we serve on safety advisory committees, utilize classroom space to mentor, and provide extracurricular activities. Some of our partners in this effort are a part of the California Endowments Building Healthy Communities; include the Los Angeles Unified School District Local 7 and the Los Angeles Child Guidance Center, Probation, and LAPD.

VVCDC and the CCI would aim to spur civic engagement among youth in order to revitalize the entire community. In Service Planning Area (SPA) 6, there are opportunities to reduce the temptation for young people to make improper decisions. However, this will take the participation of our community leaders in activities such as gang prevention, job creation, job preparedness, and soft skill development. With the California Community Foundation’s assistance we are certain that we will improve the plight of SPA 6 youth.

We have served on average 314 young adults each year. Youth participate in activities such as camping excursions, life skills development camps, basketball teams, bowling, amusement parks, and visiting professional sporting events. Our participants have realized improvement in school performance, reduction in recidivism, and enrollment in college, vocational schools, and the armed forces. We measure our outcomes by using GAIN assessment methodology to assess youth at enrollment, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. This includes the collection of grade report cards and progress reports. This information is inputted into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
With the Preparing Achievers for Tomorrow Grant, our first capacity-building objective will be to enroll 35 youth unduplicated youth in CCI’s after school sports and leisure activities. Activities that we will target include basketball, soccer, volleyball, aerobics, dance, and yoga. We will ensure that at least 80% of the youth that we enroll stay enrolled in their class until its completion. Our second capacity building objective will be to develop a new joint data collection and tracking system to perform a pre-assessment and post-assessment analysis of the clients.

Families Learning to Interact Positively Youth Substance Abuse Program

The Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) to alcohol and substance use treatment is a behavioral intervention that seeks to increase the family, social, and educational/vocational rein forcers of an adolescent to support recovery; conversely, if an adolescent uses alcohol or other drugs, then a time-out from these rein forcers occurs. The outpatient program targets youth 12 to 17 years old with DSM-IV cannabis, alcohol, and/or other substance use disorders.

According to the adolescent’s needs and self-assessment of happiness in multiple areas of functioning, therapists choose from among 17 A-CRA procedures that address, for example, problem-solving skills to cope with day-to-day stressors, communication skills, and active participation in positive social and recreational activities with the goal of improving life satisfaction and eliminating alcohol and substance use problems.
Role-playing/behavioral rehearsal is a critical component of the skills training used in

A-CRA (e.g., drug refusal, problem solving, and communication skills).
Every session ends with a mutually agreed upon homework assignment to practice skills learned during sessions. Often these homework assignments include participation in pro-social activities. Likewise, each session begins with a review of the homework assignment from the previous session. A-CRA procedures have been evaluated with street-living, homeless youth in a drop-in center to reduce substance use, increase social stability, and improve physical and mental health.