November 10, 2016
LAWT News Service
The Brotherhood Crusade is welcoming Grammy Award winning artist Anthony Hamilton to perform at the Pioneer of African American Achievement Awards Gala on the new event date, Friday, December 9, 2016, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, located at 9876 Wilshire Blvd.
The Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter rose to fame with his platinum-selling second studio album Comin’ from Where I’m From (2003), which featured the title track single “Comin’ from Where I’m From” and the follow-up “Charlene.” Nominated for 10 Grammy awards, he is also known for the song “Freedom” from the soundtrack album of Django Unchained co-written and sung as a duo with indie soul singer Elayna Boynton.
Hamilton made a cameo appearance on the hit Fox show, EMPIRE, where he performed “Point of It All” as part of main character Luscious Lyon's proposal to his girlfriend.
On March 25, he released his 9th studio album “What I’m Feelin”, followed by embarking upon a nationwide tour earlier this year with Fantasia.
Charisse Bremond Weaver, Brotherhood Crusade President and CEO said, “We are thrilled to welcome Anthony Hamilton to share his amazing talent with our guests at this year’s event. It will be a festive and exciting affair!”
This year, Brotherhood Crusade will salute All-Star athlete and humanitarian Chris Paul and the Chris Paul Family Foundation with the prestigious 48th Annual Pioneer of African American Achievement Award.
A world class athlete, hero and role model, Christopher Emmanuel Paul is an All-Star American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The point guard has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists four times and steals six times. He has also been selected to nine NBA All-Star teams, eight All-NBA teams, and eight All-Defensive teams.
Paul was a McDonald’s All-American in high school. He attended Wake Forest University for two years of college basketball where he helped the Demon Deacons achieve their first ever number one ranking. He was selected fourth overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets and traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011.
Off the court, Paul has served as the National Basketball Players Association president since August 2013. One of the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Nike and State Farm.
Brotherhood Crusade and many other organizations have benefitted from the generosity of The Chris Paul Family Foundation, which strives to positively impact individuals and families by leveling the playing field in Education, Sports and Life. The foundation provides impactful resources that enrich and strengthen healthy development of strong communities. Some of the astounding programs that have enriched the lives of Brotherhood Crusade youth include a state of the art computer lab donated by Chris Paul and the Chris Paul Family Foundation, the Holiday Takeover which involved a holiday shopping spree for underprivileged youth, compliments of Chris Paul and Kevin Hart and Jada’s Prom Dress Giveaway for high school senior girls who received beautiful prom dresses, shoes, jewelry and more, compliments of Chris and his wife Jada Paul.
Bremond Weaver said, “We are honored to shine a light on Chris Paul and the entire Paul family, they are friends, mentors, partners and supporters, who have made a profound impact in the lives of Brotherhood Crusade youth in their professional and humanitarian roles. Over the years, Chris has given his time, his money and most importantly his heart to make a difference in the lives of our youth and our community. Our kids get to talk to him and his family members, learn from Chris and know that he and the Paul family truly cares and believes in them.”
November 03, 2016
LAWT News Service
South Los Angeles elected officials urge residents to vote yes on Prop HHH on their November 2016 ballot. Outside of Skid Row, South Los Angeles has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the City of Los Angeles, and Proposition HHH will provide the funding necessary to support lasting change.
“We have an opportunity before us to better the lives of thousands of men, women, and children living on our streets,” said Los Angeles City Council President Herb J. Wesson, Jr. “Together let's heed the call to strengthen the city for generations to come.”
With homelessness rising across the city, Angelenos want to help but often feel overwhelmed. Prop HHH on the November ballot offers a critical piece of the solution. The proposition— “Housing and Hope to End Homelessness”— would allow the city to finance the 10,000 units of Permanent Supportive Housing needed to house all the city’s chronically homeless residents. Permanent supportive housing has an extraordinary record. Local success rates exceed 90%. Housing is 43% less expensive than leaving men and women on the street—and infinitely more humane.
“We stand at the precipice, the beginning of the end of homelessness as we know it in the City of Los Angeles,” said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. “Proposition HHH will be a down payment on what will be a long term and sustained effort to qualitatively impact the lives of homeless individuals and families”.
Prop HHH would raise $1.2 billion dollars to finance the construction of permanent supportive housing over the next 10 years, and could expect to leverage three times its value from other sources of funds. It would triple the pace that Los Angeles currently builds housing. Residents would have access to facilities for mental health, drug and alcohol treatment. The bond could also finance affordable housing for the Angelenos at greatest risk of homelessness, as well as temporary shelters, storage and shower facilities. Repaying the bond would add approximately $33 per year to the average Los Angeles property tax bill ($9.64/$100,000 assessed value).
The bond proposal was co-authored by Homelessness & Poverty Committee (H&P) Chair Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Vice-Chair Councilmember José Huizar, and was adopted by the Los Angeles City Council in June after a year of hearings and public testimony. Under the leadership of Council President Herb Wesson, the H&P committee to address homelessness was established in the summer of 2015. The committee has worked with Wesson, the City Council, CAO, CLA and Mayor’s office to usher in a strategic homelessness plan and last week announced Meg Barclay as the City’s first-ever Homelessness Coordinator.
November 03, 2016
LAWT News Service
Tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams have joined forces to establish the Williams Sister Fund to collaborate on philanthropic efforts. Their first endeavor will be launched in their hometown of Compton with the opening of the Yetunde Price Resource Center. Named after their eldest sister who was killed by senseless gun violence, the Resource Center will conduct a community asset inventory and develop a comprehensive resource network designed to connect residents affected by violence with service providers. It will serve as a powerful tool by developing a customized plan and function as a direct connection with partnering agencies for efficient services. The Yetunde Price Resource Center’s opening and the Williams sister’s participation in the 2016 Healthy Compton Community Festival marks their return to the city of Compton since 2003.
“This is an incredible investment and commitment by Serena and Venus Williams and I commend them for their desire to help children and families in Compton thrive,” said Mayor Aja Brown. “The Resource Center will serve as vital support to existing non-profits and organizations that provide critical services to our community. I understand first hand the power of partnership and I am confident that the Resource Center will play a major role in breaking down silos in our community by facilitating key partnerships to increase asset leveraging and expanding the impact of services. The Resource Center will be able to map all of the resources in and around the Compton community while providing customized assistance that will be a vital asset to improving our ability to service our youth, adults and families.”
“Reinvestment is vital to sustaining a healthy community,” added Lori R. Gay, CEO Neighborhood Housing Services of L.A. County. "I commend the Williams sisters for bringing their support and resources back to the City of Compton. As we are nearing the completion of our 28,000 square-foot state-of-the-art Center for Sustainable Communities in the city of Compton, we look forward to collaborating with the Yetunde Price Resource Center to improve the quality of life for Compton residents.”
As is often the case in low-income communities, there are a plethora of resources for its residents, but too many barriers to access. In Compton there are over one hundred nonprofit organizations, and many people in need that don’t know where to begin to access available supportive services. Venus and Serena Williams are partnering with their sponsors and the City of Compton to create a solution to this problem via the Yetunde Price Resource Center. The Resource Center is not replicating what already exists in Compton, but making it seamless for people to access the resources that exist and identify additional areas of need specific to the Compton community. The Resource Center is an efficient and effective use of space and time and is also a model replicable for other communities.
In addition to the Resource Center, through a generous grant from Gatorade, two tennis courts will be refurbished and dedicated in the Williams Sister’s honor, which will be unveiled during the Healthy Compton Community Festival on Saturday, Nov. 12th.
October 27, 2016
LAWT News Service
California State Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, along with Councilmember Curren D. Price, Jr. of the New 9th, Commissioner Heather Repenning of the Board of Public Works, and other city officials commemorated the opening of the Avalon Green Alley Network with a ribbon cutting, community celebration and resource fair Saturday, October 22.
Featured in the New York Times as an example of green design, the Avalon Green Alley Network helped transform a debris-filled alley into a Green Alley by adding murals, infiltration trenches, native plants, permeable pavement, dry wells and other rainwater elements.
“For far too long, this was just another underused, overlooked and neglected space perceived as an eyesore for the neighborhood and a magnet for crime,” said Price, Jr.
“I am proud to say that is no longer the case because we all shared a vision of the type of community we want to live in and rightfully deserve.
“We’ve given new life to this urban alley and transformed it into a community asset that serves a variety of critical functions, such as providing safe passageways for local families walking home or on their way to school, parks, church, or a grocery store.”
“We are experiencing a record drought, and every drop of water we get is too precious to waste,” said Enrique C. Zaldivar, P.E., Executive Director of Los Angeles Sanitation. “Innovative projects like the Avalon Green Alley Network capture and recharge groundwater, as well as improve the water quality of the Los Angeles River by removing pollutants like trash, bacteria, metals and nutrients.”
“The Trust for Public Land is delighted to partner with the community, City of Los Angeles and the New 9th to open the Avalon Green Alley project,” said Tori Kjer Los Angeles Program Director The Trust for Public Land. “Multi-benefit projects like the Avalon Green Alley Network bring important greening and stormwater capture features to our most dense and park poor communities.”
The new Avalon Green Alley Network also provides a pathway in the community between schools, parks and a local grocery store.