Action Plans

Goal 1: All Children Graduate from High School Equipped to Follow Their Passions

• Create training facilities, programs, and communication channels that enable face-to-face connections between schools and parents.
• Develop mentorship and learning environments that connect young people with other community members (from churches, Danville Community College, and retired educators, etc.).
• Create specific spaces and programs that are designated as good learning environments.

Goal 2: Every Resident is Connected to and / or Involved in a Neighborhood Specific Activity

• Develop peer-to-peer or mentorship programs for parental engagement.
• Identify routine ways to work with city staff to improve safe routes to school and develop a walkable community.
• Develop opportunities for more community connections across all of the Southside neighborhood (e.g., at community centers and other gathering spaces).
• Develop more walkways to places where residents go.

Goal 3: Affordable Housing is Available and Easily Accessible

• Increase access to a housing education resource hub.
• Repurpose vacant spaces.
• Create more public art.
• Create accessible ways for home-ownership information to be shared with and available to residents.
• Increase residents’ access to home ownership, renovation/trade skills, rehabilitation, and advocacy trainings.
• Publicize neighborhood tours so that elected officials can observe conditions, report findings to city council, and present recommendations.

Goal 4: There are Many Diverse, Youth-Oriented Activities

• Increase access to parks and play spaces, develop programs / infrastructure that reflect the desires of Southside youth, and include activities for parents.
• Focus programming for youth (both boys and girls) in ways that reflect their needs and desires (like entrepreneurship, robotics, martial arts, a variety of sports, trade, coding, drama / dance, fashion, food, etc.).
• Develop programs for youth that focus on the neighborhood’s history and cultural grounding.
• Organize neighborhood-based events for children.

Goal 5: There are Established Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Youth

• Create opportunities for businesses and other sectors to connect with Southside youth to enhance networking that could lead to paid work.
• Create workforce preparedness programs with a range of skill opportunities for youth and parents.
• Expose residents and youth to local businesses’ services, discuss the skill sets needed, and create apprenticeships and networking opportunities.