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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
January 13, 2014 Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.—As part of an initiative to increase economic activity and expand opportunities in impoverished areas throughout the country, President Obama awarded a federal Promise Zone designation to the city of Los Angeles and their lead partner, the Youth Policy Institute, an NCLR (National Council of La Raza) Affiliate. The city will receive up to $500 million in grants to help revitalize central Los Angeles neighborhoods, which include many predominantly Latino areas, by investing in job creation, creating affordable housing, improving public safety and ensuring access to quality education.
“It’s been 50 years since President Johnson’s War on Poverty speech, and, unfortunately, poverty continues to plague far too many neighborhoods throughout this country,” said Delia de la Vara, Vice President of the California Region of NCLR. “However, this initiative takes a comprehensive approach to dealing with this challenging issue by investing in many different facets of a community in order to improve the overall quality of life. By creating better jobs, schools and housing, we can begin to put the different puzzle pieces together that will ultimately help get struggling Angelenos back on their feet. We commend the Obama administration for making these critical investments and applaud Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and our Affiliate, the Youth Policy Institute, for the tremendous commitment to revive the city’s struggling neighborhoods.”
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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