Abstract
Center City Coordination (C3) Program
A.Alden, 9/05
Binghamton University has partnered with over fifty community organizations, agencies, and public offices to assess and address the critical needs faced by the population living in the center city of Binghamton, NY (Districts 7 & 9). Our purpose is to help revitalize neighborhoods within the target zone by improving the overall quality of life for the residents. The project focuses on the coordination of existing services for optimal use, expanding outreach and referral capabilities, and thorough assessments of unmet needs for additional service and resource development. These activities are being accomplished with guidance and support from community members and in close alignment with existing organizations and projects. Careful coordination with current efforts reduces the possibility of redundancy of services and allows more optimal use of the available resources.
Six C3 Task Teams address specific target focus areas: community organizing and development, education, health and wellbeing, workforce development, housing, and research. The Advisory Council, made up of leaders from community groups and organizations, university partners, the six Task Team Leaders, C3 personnel, and residents from the target area, helps guide the development of project directions and serves as a coordination mechanism between Task Teams. Critical to the sustained improvement of these neighborhoods is the active, positive involvement of residents in the community organizing and development processes.
While baseline information is already available indicating that this geographic zone has high needs in the focus areas mentioned above, meetings, interviews and surveys conducted in the community help guide the development of strategies for effectively addressing the problems. For example, while many resources currently exist in these areas, access continues to present a challenge. Access and other issues are being considered and addressed by the focus area Task Teams as they design and implement strategies to address them.
Progress on project objectives is being monitored and documented under the direction of the Project Director and an outside researcher / evaluator. Ultimately, after the three-year HUD funding expires, it is expected that critical elements of this project will be so well integrated into the targeted neighborhoods, community organizations, the University, and municipalities, that they will be sustained and the community will continue to benefit from this collaboration.