College Gets Grant to Aid Neighborhoods

SANTA ANA — Dubbed “the gateway to the American dream,” a $400,000 federal grant announced Wednesday will allow Santa Ana College to help residents of two low-income neighborhoods become self-sufficient, federal officials said.

The grant, one of 25 awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be used for services including language classes, job training and child care at the Warwick Square Apartments and in the Delhi area, both in Santa Ana.

The college was among only three schools in the state to receive such a grant, which officials said couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Because of welfare reform, many area residents will be required to quickly learn job skills.

“We want to develop within the communities an infrastructure to support residents who are largely immigrants, many of whom are AFDC recipients,” said John Nixon, the college’s executive dean of instruction. “Our goal is for them to be able to take hold of their own life and direct their own future and the futures of their children.”

Under California welfare reform guidelines, which are based on federal requirements, families may receive aid to families with dependent children for up to two years. Although the HUD grants, totaling $7.3 million, were not intended to address welfare reform, they nevertheless will benefit those affected by the mandate, Nixon said.

“Colleges and universities can be the gateway to the American dream, not just for their students, but for their neighbors as well,” U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo said in announcing the grants in Washington. “This initiative will benefit cities, their residents and colleges by reversing decades of neighborhood decline.”

The 500-unit Warwick Square apartment complex at 780 S. Lyon St. has been plagued by drug, gang and prostitution problems for years, according to the college’s grant application. In 1995, a nonprofit corporation spent $7 million to renovate the complex and restore some quality of life. But residents still have had to battle neighborhood crime, officials said.

“Residents in Warwick Square are in great need of educational and social services” to maintain a fragile stability that began with the renovation, the college wrote.

About two miles south of the apartment complex is the 12-block Delhi neighborhood, one of the most densely populated communities in the state. Many of the 3,500 residents live in garages, sheds or other makeshift homes, Nixon said. Besides helping residents find jobs and child care, the college will encourage renters, who make up about 65% of the population, to buy homes by educating them about the advantages. Authorities said they believe that as more residents own homes, they will take a more active role in improving the neighborhood.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to combine college resources with community outreach to encourage participation of local residents in planning and organizing their own neighborhood,” said Irene Martinez, executive director of Delhi Center, one of two community centers which will help implement the new services.

Santa Ana College, previously Rancho Santiago College, will be in charge of child care, job-preparation and housing programs set to begin in October. UC Irvine will provide researchers and tutors, among other support services, through its urban planning graduate program.

In addition to the $400,000 provided by HUD over a period of three years, the effort has received staff support from UCI, the Delhi Center and Santa Ana College, Nixon said.

More than 100 schools applied for this year’s Community Outreach Partnership Centers Program, which began in 1993 under President Clinton’s national service initiative, HUD spokesman Alex Sachs said. Other California colleges receiving grant money were UC San Diego and San Jose State University.

Santa Ana College officials proposed the grant as part of a citywide effort called Santa Ana 2000, an ongoing initiative involving more than 200 people from various groups who identify problems and find solutions.

Authorities are meeting within the next week to decide how to implement the program, Nixon said.

“This is a major endeavor,” Nixon said. “We are all very excited about it.”

Although the program is meant to help low-income neighborhoods, the college itself inevitably will benefit as well, HUD officials said.

“Healthier communities help universities remain healthy and attractive to students,” Cuomo said. “The fate of these institutions and their surrounding neighborhoods are inextricably linked. If one suffers, so will the other.”

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Help on the Way

A $400,000 grant will allow Santa Ana College to aid residents of two low-income areas in the city, including services such as job training and child care.