Leslie Reid was born into a family of two: It was her and her mother, alone in New York, in need of better prospects. Reid spent time in foster care while her mother went to find them a home. Her family grew exponentially when she rejoined her mother, who had found work in Boston with a community of social workers. They'd started an organization for homeless youth, Reid says, and they lived together and worked together, providing shelter and services. 

For a learning cohort process supported by NeighborWorks America, community development organizations worked hand in hand with arts organizations as they re-imagined the future of their neighborhoods. What they found was often unexpected and revealed ways that the milestones found on the journey are just as important as the final destination. 

A Puerto Rico leadership initiative, sponsored by NeighborWorks America and its partners, is helping leaders tap into larger networks of support to help them in their work managing nonprofits and supporting residents on the island.

The residents who live in Lee House, a senior apartment building owned and operated by the Housing Assistance Program of Essex County (HAPEC), take care of each other. The building, an historic Port Henry hotel in Elizabethtown, New York, converted to affordable housing, has 25 residents who make sure their neighbors make it to doctor’s appointments or to the grocery store to pick up food or an extra container of wipes.

Angela Bannerman Ankoma wanted her mother to have peppers, yams, and other foods she missed from her native Ghana. A 30-year resident of the densely populated, culturally diverse West End in Providence, Rhode Island, the community where she grew up, Ankoma says she knew immigrants in her community who would travel as far as New Jersey to find or sell produce and specialty items that were native to their diet. And she felt for the people in her neighborhood who just needed access healthy food that was culturally responsive.  

Tasha Oliverson is a fighter. She stands up for what she believes in. She fights for the powerless. She works to give a platform to people who feel they have no voice. Through her activism, leadership and volunteerism, Tasha has helped to build a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community in Roseburg, Oregon, a small city located in the Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon.

College freshman Vanesa Medrano has a vision to inspire the youth in her Near Northside community in Houston, Texas. Through Millennialz Youth Fest, the community organization she founded with friends, she motivates young people to give back to the community, get involved and make their voices heard. 

Rasheada Caldwell founded Let Me Be Great #44 in 2018 to honor the memory of her beloved son, Rasheed Baker. The young man was known for being patient and kind; for his ability to make people around him smile; and for his positivity.