Community Engagement in Building a Clinic and Community Garden in South L.A

In South L.A., UMMA Community Clinic and Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust are working together to develop a school-based clinic and community garden at Fremont High School. Special Service for Groups (SSG) was contracted in Spring 2011 to conduct a community assessment to develop both programming and operations recommendations for this joint project. Our assessment was initially met with both enthusiasm and skepticism by the community. Community members were excited about new resources coming into their neighborhood. At the same time, there is a history of neglect and broken promises as well as local politics that have to be taken into consideration. To ensure the legitimacy of our research, we worked with a group of students and adult community members (separately) to implement a mixed-methods approach. The methods included: 10 focus groups, 14 key informant interviews, 1 adult survey (189 participants), 1 student survey (579 participants), and participatory photography. A findings report was presented to both UMMA and the Land Trust in Winter 2011, with community recommendations in 10 major areas. Currently, the collaborators are making plans to continue community engagement that began with this research process.