Vice President Joe Biden Commends Esperanza Community Housing

“I have been involved with community organizations my entire life. I am not new to this. You [at Esperanza Community Housing Corporation] are among the best organizations I have seen in the entire country. What you’re doing in this community with your Health Promoters Program is a model for other groups all across the country working to improve the lives of the people in the neighborhoods that are so underserved.”

– Vice President Joe Biden

Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden came to Esperanza Community Housing Corporation during his visit to Los Angeles on May 15, 2009.  He chose give his address at one of Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s quality affordable housing buildings to highlight the work of Esperanza’s Healthy Homes team.  The Healthy Homes Team has been working to remediate slum housing conditions in South Los Angeles for the past 11 years, keeping families safe from lead poisoning and chronic asthma caused by mold and vermin infestation.  Although Esperanza scored highly in its last proposal to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it was not funded in 2008 due to budget cuts.  As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (or the Stimulus), the Esperanza’s Healthy Homes team was funded for three more years to continue its vital work for the low-income families living in slum housing.  For more information on the Healthy Homes Team and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, read this post at our staff blog.  For full coverage of Vice President Biden’s visit, including videos, articles, and photos, read this post.

Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s model of public health is deeply community-based.  Healthy Homes grantees are typically universities or municipalities — Esperanza is unique because it is a community based organization completely staffed by local low-income residents.  Esperanza Community Housing Corporation offers its Community Health Promoters Training Program to local low-income residents and over the course of six months teaches them multiple public health topics.  Over the past 14 years Esperanza has trained 334 residents of South Los Angeles to be advocates for public health, creating a powerful grassroots base of activists and opening up employment opportunities.  Graduates are employed in local community clinics and non-profits, and there are 25 graduates of the training employed by Esperanza’s Community Health Programs — including the director of Health Programs, Lupe Gonzalez, who was a member of the first class of the Community Health Promoters Training Program.

Vice President Joe Biden commended Esperanza as an ideal use of tax-payer funds because Esperanza creates jobs and healthier communities.  Below are the Vice President’s full remarks.