The Californer - City of Long Beach Launches Love Your Block Program

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Long Beach, CA ~ Long Beach, CA - The City of Long Beach has announced a new partnership with the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University to launch Love Your Block, a community-driven initiative aimed at empowering residents to take action and improve their neighborhoods. This partnership will allow Long Beach to join a national network of cities committed to supporting resident-led efforts for positive change.

Mayor Rex Richardson expressed his excitement about the initiative, stating that "Love Your Block is about bringing people together to build on the strengths of our neighborhoods and empower residents to take the lead in shaping their communities." He encouraged all residents to get involved and be a part of this opportunity.

In its first year, Love Your Block will focus on supporting the City's Westside Promise Initiative, a 10-year community investment plan aimed at addressing current and historic challenges facing West Long Beach. Through this initiative, existing City efforts will be aligned with strategic partnerships and investments.

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Residents will have the opportunity to come together through a community-led Civic Deliberation Team to address local challenges and drive meaningful change in West Long Beach. The team will identify key priorities, develop action plans, and create challenge statements to guide residents in submitting grant proposals. Workshops will also be held to ensure that funding is directed towards impactful, community-driven projects that align with local needs.

As part of this effort, Love Your Block will provide mini-grants of up to $2,500 for resident-led projects. This empowers community members to take action and create lasting positive change in their neighborhoods. Residents living in West Long Beach who are interested in applying for a mini-grant or joining the Civic Deliberation Team are encouraged to complete the Love Your Block Interest Form. This form will remain open throughout the duration of the initiative and ensures that residents receive updates, guidance, and resources leading up to the grant application launch on Earth Day 2025.

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Vice Mayor and Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga expressed his support for the program, stating that "Love Your Block is an opportunity to support resident-led projects that will make a meaningful impact. I look forward to seeing how this program will help strengthen connections and enhance the places we all call home."

Long Beach is now part of a nationwide cohort of cities implementing Love Your Block. Since its inception, the program has positively impacted nearly 50,000 residents across the country by improving public spaces, creating art displays, cleaning graffiti, and removing trash. A total of 50 cities across 33 states have received support through the program. A recent study by the Urban Institute also found that cities participating in Love Your Block were able to strengthen social cohesion among residents, increase civic participation, and build stronger relationships with community members.

The Love Your Block Program is currently in its development phase, with more information about the mini-grant and Civic Deliberation Team to be announced in the coming weeks. To stay updated on this initiative, residents can visit the Love Your Block webpage.

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