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Partnerships for Community Resilience and Connectedness

Since our foundation in 2003, ISD is committed to ensuring the longterm success of the communities in which it serves. Through establishing partnerships, we are creating a community that fosters resilience.

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We're facing a loneliness epidemic. People are less connected than ever before, and this isolation is harming our health and communities. Declining social capital—the trust and connections within a community—is making it harder for us to live together peacefully and productively.

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What does this look like in everyday life?

  • Crime and fear: When neighbors don't know each other, it's easier for crime to happen. People feel less safe, leading to higher costs for security and a decline in local businesses.

  • Decaying neighborhoods: A lack of connection shows in neglected public spaces, litter, and vandalism. It's a downward spiral; a community's appearance reflects its well-being, and vice versa.

  • Inequality in services: Lower-income neighborhoods often get the short end of the stick. Trash isn't picked up as quickly, buses run late, and essential services are harder to access.

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These problems are especially harmful to low-income communities. They further contribute to poverty, poor health, and crime.
 

A connected community is a resilient community. By investing in relationships and trust, we can create healthier, safer, and more prosperous neighborhoods for everyone.

What Can We Do?

Building stronger communities means investing in social connections as much as in economic development. We need to create spaces for people to come together, support programs that foster trust, and make it easier for neighbors to help each other.

 

At ISD we are working to address this issue as a core strategy of our approach to community and economic development.  We're connecting people with resources, building community networks, and promoting initiatives that strengthen social bonds.

Our Current Projects

In partnership with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC),  TFLA  launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lasting economic crisis.  The program provides resources to vulnerable small businesses, micro-enterprises, non-profit organizations, women owned and diverse-owned businesses. Los Angeles County is home to more than 1.3 million small businesses, including more women and BIPOC owned small businesses than any other county in the nation, yet many lack the resources necessary to promote longterm resilience. TFLA seeks to support these businesses through providing the technical assistance and resources key to success.

Los Angeles
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