We are proud to partner with the East Side Neighborhood Development Company (ESNDC), a 35 year-old, locally-governed Community Development Corporation located on the East Side of Saint Paul. Their mission is to create affordable housing and support commercial development. We started working closely with ESNDC in 2013, with a particular focus on reaching Hmong homeowners in need in Saint Paul.
As part of evaluating our programs and services in 2013, we realized that we weren’t adequately serving certain groups, such as the Hmong community. We decided to make a concerted effort to reach out to this community to ensure that we were truly serving all. We established a partnership with ESNDC for homeowner applicant referrals and we worked with them to translate some of our materials into Hmong. We also provided training to their staff to explain the services we offer and what to look for in a potential client and their home. This partnership has been invaluable! We exceeded our goal in 2014, serving six Hmong families in need. And, in 2015 we’ve already helped nine Hmong families.
In addition to partnering with ESNDC to reach the Hmong community, we have also collaborated with them on several substantial home rehabilitation projects, as well as our recent beautification project at Weida Park. And, we continue to expand our partnership so we can better serve homeowners in need living on the East Side of Saint Paul. Thank you to ESNDC for continuing to be a strong partner in our work to revitalize and stabilize homes and neighborhoods in need!