Asian Neighborhood Design, Inc.

Causes: Community & Neighborhood Development, Economic Development, Employment Preparation & Procurement, Human Services, Job Training

Mission: Our mission is to reduce poverty and revitalize neighborhoods in the Bay Area by building healthy communities and providing opportunities for low income residents to become economically self-sufficient. We address needs in employment training for at-risk youth and adults, affordable housing including for special needs populations, healthy neighborhoods, after-school services and disaster preparedness. A.N.D. was founded in 1973 by a group of idealistic architecture students at the University of California at Berkeley who wanted to improve the crowded living conditions in San Francisco Chinatown. Since that time, A.N.D. has expanded to serve multi-ethnic low-income populations

Programs: Asian Neighborhood Design is a non-profit architecture, community planning, and support services organization dedicated to helping disadvantaged individuals and communities become self-sufficient.We offer a unique service set under one roof. Through Architecture services, we design and/or build affordable and sustainable housing and public facilities. Community Planning provides planning and relations expertise and community advocacy. Employment Training provides not just job, but career and life skills training, and Family & Youth Resources offers related social services adjunct to our other three programs.Combined, our programs offer the vital means for disadvantaged individuals and communities to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.More detailed information about our programs follows:We run a job training and placement program that serves 60-80 low income, "at-risk" youth and adults every year. We provide hands-on training in our facility as well as on community job sites such as with Habitat for Humanity, and emphasize life skills such as good work habits as much as specific job skills. Over 80% of recent graduates were placed in jobs, and we provide long-term follow up services to ensure that they receive opportunities to become self-sufficient. Graduates have an opportunity to join the Carpenters Union apprenticeship program, where starting wages are $19.95 an hour. The apprenticeship program provides a career path to journey level positions within five years.A.N.D. provides architectural and planning services to help non-profit organizations develop affordable housing, community centers, and livable neighborhoods. Our projects have improved neighborhoods such as San Francisco's Tenderloin, South of Market, Bayview-Hunter's Point, Visitacion Valley and Chinatown; Oakland's San Antonio and Chinatown neighborhoods; and others throughout the Bay Area.We have also developed our own affordable housing developments, including buildings that include computer labs and counseling services for their tenants, as well as a children's park. The planning division works with neighborhoods to ensure that zoning changes and development are responsive to community needs.We provide long-term services to help people become self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on government support. Participants have seen their incomes greatly increase through our case management and referral services. We also help young people develop financial literacy skills through a creative program that emphasizes reading and homework.We also have provided housing counseling and disaster preparedness services in low income neighborhoods in San Francisco.