Immediately after the 2016 election, when immigrants were among the first targeted groups of the new administration, the Foundation held an emergency board meeting. Our familial ties to immigrants are so deep and powerful that we unanimously adopted ONE PRIORITY:Keeping Families Together.
The Foundation decided to engage in comprehensive local action to support children and families in our community. We committed to the following fundamentals of Social Justice grant making:
· Promoting empowerment and resilience among immigrant parents whose families were under attack by including them as decision makers.
Serving as allies to partner organizations by contributing not only funding but time, knowledge, skills and access.
In March 2017, in partnership with the Culver City Unified School District and local allies and nonprofit organizations, the Culver City Family Alliance (CCFA) was launched. The priority for this experimental pilot was a focus on one particularly vulnerable and targeted population: undocumented and mixed-status families.
The stress and anxieties many children in immigrant and refugee families face, as they live in fear of losing loved ones to detention or deportation, impact every aspect of their lives, from mental health to school success. Other issues impacting this population include: poverty; food insecurity; immigration-related legal difficulties; and insufficient access to affordable health care. To address these issues, CCFA sought to provide critical wrap-around services to families in jeopardy. CCFA’s whole-family focus increased children’s chances for success and built long-term resilience in parents all too familiar with adversity.
CCFA developed these guiding principles and goals: - Address and respond to immediate needs identified and expressed by vulnerable families. - Empower the families to provide for themselves and build their own sense of resilience.
The CCFA pilot project, funded by the Fineshriber Family Foundation, was comprised of the following partners, programs, and allies, who came together to specifically support the students enrolled in CCUSD and their families:
Culver City Unified School District - Provided substantial in-kind services including personnel, sites for programs and special events, and clerical support - Distributed scholarships for all DACA and undocumented graduating seniors
CARACEN provided free individualized immigration legal aid services and collaborated with CCUSD to offer Know Your Rights and Know Your Plan workshops
Open Paths Counseling Center provided support groups for Spanish-speaking CCUSD parents
Westside Food Bank provided produce fresh produce that was distributed by volunteers at weekly Free Farmers Markets at CCUSD school sites. These Farmers Markets became valuable outreach centers.
West LA College collaborated with Culver City High School groups and provided an on-campus Dream Center for their DACA and undocumented students
Venice Family Clinic - Provided health services, including dental and mental health - Provided case management - Collaborated with CCUSD to offer Kitchen in A Bag programs, including cooking equipment and recipe workshops, for families without access to complete kitchens.
The Culver Needs Committee, a group comprised of CCUSD employees, nonprofit representatives from the above agencies, and local allies, provided clothing and school supplies through Culver Closet at the high school; shelf-stable food items through the backpack program; and emergency funds.
More programs and projects have grown out of these in an ongoing process of community ownership, including nutrition and exercise classes; a locally focused, free Spanish-language newspaper; small business training; and ongoing food, counseling, case management, and self-help services.
Fiscal Sponsor of CCFA: consulting and staffing expenses; program fees and supplies reimbursements; back office and sponsorship fees 2018-2019 - $116,000 *Also included in Equity Initiative grants
