Causes: Children & Youth, Family Services, Human Service Organizations, Human Services, Neighborhood Centers, Youth Centers & Clubs
Mission: All Peoples Community Center (All Peoples) is an all-encompassing neighborhood center whose mission is to provide social services and programs that empower individuals and promote community, respect and self-determination for all.
Founded in 1942, All Peoples has served as a true safe haven, and a beloved and trusted place for low-income children, youth, and families in South Los Angeles for over 75 years. Started prior to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s-60’s, All Peoples Community Center was a revolutionary concept as described in the organization’s 2008 Strategic Plan: “All Peoples is a non-profit, non-sectarian community center located in the very spot where it was originally founded in 1942 – in South Los Angeles. All Peoples has made incredible strides since it was first envisioned… as a place in the inner-city where people from all ethnicities, races, and religions could unite under one roof to share a vision for a stronger, more self-reliant community and to help turn the dreams of struggling local youth & adults into reality. At a time when de facto and de jure segregation were still an everyday reality in Los Angeles, the establishment of All Peoples, a multi-ethnic and multi-racial community center, was not just path-breaking, it was revolutionary. ” Originally launched by pastor Dan Genung as a mission center of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), All Peoples evolved and was incorporated as a separate entity from the church in 1966.
Today, All Peoples provides a myriad of social and educational services to more than 6,600 people per year in its 20,000-square-foot center located in a residential area of South LA’s Vernon-Central neighborhood, immediately south of downtown Los Angeles. Services are designed to achieve the following goals: to help children succeed at each stage of development; to strengthen and support individuals and families and build community; to prevent violence and crime in the community and the home; to address the root causes of gang involvement; to provide job training and create job opportunities; and to help seniors stay active and engaged.
All Peoples is a vibrant hub of activity for children, youth, and families six days a week, year-round. Services include licensed extended day childcare, after school programs, academic tutoring, a computer lab, summer camp, summer jobs, workforce development and career assistance, financial literacy and education, parenting classes, domestic violence support groups, food distribution, a community micro-garden, a senior volunteer program, and more. These services are intentionally designed to address poverty and educational needs, which are the root causes of challenges such as gang involvement and crime in the community.
Target demographics: Youth and Families
Direct beneficiaries per year: 6,600 Individuals
Geographic areas served: South Los Angeles Vernon-Central
Programs: All Peoples reduces barriers, increases opportunity, & meets essential needs for low-income families, including immigrants, in the areas of (1) education, jobs, & economic opportunity; (2) health & safety; and (3) community engagement & coalition-building as follows.
EDUCATION, JOBS, & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: For children age 2-5, All Peoples provides on-site, licensed, subsidized childcare & pre-school in partnership with the 103-year-old International Institute of LA using the research-based HighScope curriculum to promote literacy & cognitive learning. For school-age children through age 17, All Peoples provides FamilySource services to: (1) assist in-school youth to improve academic achievement; & (2) help their parents increase family income. Services include: after-school services (“Tomorrow’s Leaders” program) including STAR reading & math assessments; tutoring; arts; summer camp; workshops to support transitions to middle & high school; college tours, financial aid, & college admissions support; computer literacy; summer jobs; mentoring; & mental health counseling. All Peoples intentionally delivers a full suite of services to address poverty and educational needs, which are the root causes of gang violence and crime in the community. FamilySource services for parents include: immigration services & legal assistance onsite in partnership with CARECEN; linkages to the local Homeless Family Solutions Center funded by LA Homeless Services Authority; homeless prevention case management; fair housing & renter’s rights workshops; English classes; citizenship classes; employment services with best-practice financial coaching; multi-benefit screening & enrollment for programs such as CalFresh/food stamps; free income tax preparation; parenting classes, mental health counseling, & mothers support group. For adults age 18 & older, All Peoples employs a bilingual Spanish Career Coach to provide employment services as a subcontractor for the Vernon Central/Los Angeles Trade Technical College WorkSource Center, operated by Coalition for Responsible Community Development. All Peoples also serves as a site for individuals to fulfill court-mandated or school mandated community service hours.
HEALTH & SAFETY: All Peoples offers health education workshops (family planning, STD’s, and HIV prevention); exercise classes; basketball, soccer, & volleyball (South Central Sports League); annual Health Fair with free health screenings; and weekend family camp in the mountains. All Peoples has a community garden, nutrition classes, a free food distribution program & a senior food delivery program, which has been evaluated & shown to increase the number of fruits & vegetables eaten by participants. In addition, All Peoples offers the evidence-based Project Alert program (developed by RAND) to promote substance abuse prevention for 7th-8th graders. To promote safety at home & in the streets, All Peoples is an approved monitor of parent visits with children placed out of the home by the LA County Department of Children & Family Services. All Peoples leads a domestic violence support group including safety planning. All Peoples is an active member of LA Police Department-Newton Division’s Community Police Advisory Board.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & COALITION BUILDING: All Peoples is a formal member of the South LA Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z), a 10-year anti-poverty strategy & Promise Zone led by LA Trade Technical College. All Peoples signed the SLATE-Z Memorandum of Understanding & is a member of the education work group & subcommittee on summer youth jobs including policy advocacy. All Peoples engages youth in addressing local issues such as homelessness, recycling, and pollution. All Peoples engages seniors in the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer) Program - a program of the federal Corporation for National & Community Service - placing 375 volunteers in 16 South LA nonprofits and public agencies. All Peoples hosts community meetings such as South Central Neighborhood Council, block clubs, Best Start-Metro LA community’s parent leadership groups, and a Congressional immigration forum.
Mission: All Peoples Community Center (All Peoples) is an all-encompassing neighborhood center whose mission is to provide social services and programs that empower individuals and promote community, respect and self-determination for all.
Founded in 1942, All Peoples has served as a true safe haven, and a beloved and trusted place for low-income children, youth, and families in South Los Angeles for over 75 years. Started prior to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s-60’s, All Peoples Community Center was a revolutionary concept as described in the organization’s 2008 Strategic Plan: “All Peoples is a non-profit, non-sectarian community center located in the very spot where it was originally founded in 1942 – in South Los Angeles. All Peoples has made incredible strides since it was first envisioned… as a place in the inner-city where people from all ethnicities, races, and religions could unite under one roof to share a vision for a stronger, more self-reliant community and to help turn the dreams of struggling local youth & adults into reality. At a time when de facto and de jure segregation were still an everyday reality in Los Angeles, the establishment of All Peoples, a multi-ethnic and multi-racial community center, was not just path-breaking, it was revolutionary. ” Originally launched by pastor Dan Genung as a mission center of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), All Peoples evolved and was incorporated as a separate entity from the church in 1966.
Today, All Peoples provides a myriad of social and educational services to more than 6,600 people per year in its 20,000-square-foot center located in a residential area of South LA’s Vernon-Central neighborhood, immediately south of downtown Los Angeles. Services are designed to achieve the following goals: to help children succeed at each stage of development; to strengthen and support individuals and families and build community; to prevent violence and crime in the community and the home; to address the root causes of gang involvement; to provide job training and create job opportunities; and to help seniors stay active and engaged.
All Peoples is a vibrant hub of activity for children, youth, and families six days a week, year-round. Services include licensed extended day childcare, after school programs, academic tutoring, a computer lab, summer camp, summer jobs, workforce development and career assistance, financial literacy and education, parenting classes, domestic violence support groups, food distribution, a community micro-garden, a senior volunteer program, and more. These services are intentionally designed to address poverty and educational needs, which are the root causes of challenges such as gang involvement and crime in the community.
Target demographics: Youth and Families
Direct beneficiaries per year: 6,600 Individuals
Geographic areas served: South Los Angeles Vernon-Central
Programs: All Peoples reduces barriers, increases opportunity, & meets essential needs for low-income families, including immigrants, in the areas of (1) education, jobs, & economic opportunity; (2) health & safety; and (3) community engagement & coalition-building as follows.
EDUCATION, JOBS, & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: For children age 2-5, All Peoples provides on-site, licensed, subsidized childcare & pre-school in partnership with the 103-year-old International Institute of LA using the research-based HighScope curriculum to promote literacy & cognitive learning. For school-age children through age 17, All Peoples provides FamilySource services to: (1) assist in-school youth to improve academic achievement; & (2) help their parents increase family income. Services include: after-school services (“Tomorrow’s Leaders” program) including STAR reading & math assessments; tutoring; arts; summer camp; workshops to support transitions to middle & high school; college tours, financial aid, & college admissions support; computer literacy; summer jobs; mentoring; & mental health counseling. All Peoples intentionally delivers a full suite of services to address poverty and educational needs, which are the root causes of gang violence and crime in the community. FamilySource services for parents include: immigration services & legal assistance onsite in partnership with CARECEN; linkages to the local Homeless Family Solutions Center funded by LA Homeless Services Authority; homeless prevention case management; fair housing & renter’s rights workshops; English classes; citizenship classes; employment services with best-practice financial coaching; multi-benefit screening & enrollment for programs such as CalFresh/food stamps; free income tax preparation; parenting classes, mental health counseling, & mothers support group. For adults age 18 & older, All Peoples employs a bilingual Spanish Career Coach to provide employment services as a subcontractor for the Vernon Central/Los Angeles Trade Technical College WorkSource Center, operated by Coalition for Responsible Community Development. All Peoples also serves as a site for individuals to fulfill court-mandated or school mandated community service hours.
HEALTH & SAFETY: All Peoples offers health education workshops (family planning, STD’s, and HIV prevention); exercise classes; basketball, soccer, & volleyball (South Central Sports League); annual Health Fair with free health screenings; and weekend family camp in the mountains. All Peoples has a community garden, nutrition classes, a free food distribution program & a senior food delivery program, which has been evaluated & shown to increase the number of fruits & vegetables eaten by participants. In addition, All Peoples offers the evidence-based Project Alert program (developed by RAND) to promote substance abuse prevention for 7th-8th graders. To promote safety at home & in the streets, All Peoples is an approved monitor of parent visits with children placed out of the home by the LA County Department of Children & Family Services. All Peoples leads a domestic violence support group including safety planning. All Peoples is an active member of LA Police Department-Newton Division’s Community Police Advisory Board.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & COALITION BUILDING: All Peoples is a formal member of the South LA Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z), a 10-year anti-poverty strategy & Promise Zone led by LA Trade Technical College. All Peoples signed the SLATE-Z Memorandum of Understanding & is a member of the education work group & subcommittee on summer youth jobs including policy advocacy. All Peoples engages youth in addressing local issues such as homelessness, recycling, and pollution. All Peoples engages seniors in the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer) Program - a program of the federal Corporation for National & Community Service - placing 375 volunteers in 16 South LA nonprofits and public agencies. All Peoples hosts community meetings such as South Central Neighborhood Council, block clubs, Best Start-Metro LA community’s parent leadership groups, and a Congressional immigration forum.
822 E 20th St., Los Angeles, CA 90011
213-747-6357
Children & Youth
Los Angeles
