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| Vol. 17, No. 8 | Oct. 23, 1997 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 8 | Oct. 23, 1997 |
The UD Center for Community Development and Family Policy is on the front lines in community service and revitalization through its Community Development Resource Center (CDRC) located in the heart of Wilmington, according to director Tim Barnekov, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy.
CDRC was initially funded by a 1995 Community Outreach Partnership Grant of $500,000 over two years from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The University and its partners-the Catalyst Project, the Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies, the Delaware Community Foundation, the Delaware State Housing Authority, Delaware Technical & Community College and Wilmington's Enterprise Community-have provided $1 million in additional matching funds.
Last spring, CDRC moved from a temporary office on King Street in Wilmington into its new headquarters in the Community Service Building on 10th Street. The Community Service Building, which houses more than 25 nonprofit organizations from the American Red Cross to Meals-on-Wheels, was developed to encourage cooperation and a sharing of resources among community service organizations. The building is equipped with meeting and training rooms and is a one-of-a-kind project that serves as a model for other cities in the United States.
Being located in the Community Services Buildings gives CDRC visibility and makes it convenient and easy for nonprofits and community-based organizations to take advantage of the programs and resources CDRC offers, Barnekov said. It is an opportunity for more than 30 research assistants and graduate students to work closely with these groups on a range of initiatives, he added.
Among the services provided is the CDRC reference library, offering a wide range of print, electronic and video materials, organizational newsletters and public domain computer software on such topics as housing, the governance and management of nonprofit organizations and community economic development. Full-time professional staff and part-time graduate students are on hand to offer assistance or answer questions.
CDRC also offers training courses on a range of topics from computer usage to management of nonprofit organizations, providing a needed service, Barnekov said.
Diamond.net, an electronic bulletin board system that links nonprofit and public agencies in Delaware, is another service offered by CDRC.
Technical assistance also is available from CDRC. Information is gathered for strategic planning and project development and implementation by neighborhood planning councils, volunteer organizations and community-based agencies.
CDRC especially has been involved in projects with Wilmington's Enterprise Community, one of 67 nationally designated, economically distressed urban areas that is slated for assistance and improvement.
CDRC has carried out such projects as the framework for an evaluation of the Enterprise Community, a report on food pantry usage in Delaware, an examination of the prevalence of homelessness and programs related to domestic violence in the state.
Also housed within the CDRC in the Housing Capacity Building Program (HCBP), which also has a site in Dover. HCBP addresses housing issues, with the mandate to place more low- and moderate-income Delawareans in affordable homes. The program, which received a grant of $1 million over three years from the U.S. Department of Education in 1993, is a partnership between the Center for Community Development and Family Policy, the Delaware State Housing Authority and the Delaware Community Investment Corp. (representing 37 area banks).
More than $600,000 has been distributed through grants to approximately 40 agencies, Barnekov said.
For example, Interfaith Housing received a grant for equipment, strategic planning, predevelopment plans and management review, and the Sunday Breakfast Mission received funding to help develop plans for transitional housing.
The Center for Community Development and Family Policy, which combines research, graduate education and community service, has a long history of involvement in Wilmington and throughout the state. CDRC and HCBP are important and effective programs in furthering the center's goals and outreach mission, Barnekov said.
-Sue Swyers Moncure
