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The effort led by Erica was one of many SNI efforts across areas of the city that were considered blighted and in need of revitalization. Efforts included both businesses and neighborhoods. Over the years, seven of these areas have partnered with CommUniverCity<\/a> to begin creating a more healthy and vibrant environment in their neighborhood. The general SNI process began with identifying leaders in each community and was followed by working meetings where residents, SNI Team Members, and the community at large compiled \u00a0a \u201cTop 10 Priorities List.\u201d These meetings served as a vehicle for empowering residents to make decisions and advocate for their neighborhoods, but expectations were also set: the work would be divided among all partners. By many measures, SNI was an overwhelming success with <\/span>immense community support for the 11 years it was in operation.<\/span><\/p>\n Before SNI came to an end, former Councilmember Sam Liccardo<\/a> started a Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG) where experienced neighborhood leaders met with their elected official monthly to discuss and try to solve Downtown issues related to quality of life, safety, and anything in between. Now, under new Downtown Councilmember Raul Peralez<\/a>, and led by Northside Neighborhood<\/a> Resident Tomika Price, the group still advocates to solve neighborhood issues and has also added neighborhood walking tours to show successes achieved through resident advocacy. The biggest change is in the name. The former NAG is now the Community Leadership Council<\/a> (CLC).<\/span><\/p>\n The CLC is flanked by other programs, projects, and organizations trying to fill the leadership pipeline by having trainings and workshops for community members on how to become an effective neighborhood advocate. Some organizations involved in this community leadership effort include SOMOS Mayfair<\/a>, the Office of Immigrant Affairs<\/a>, and of course, CommUniverCity<\/a>.<\/span> Back in 2009, Susana, my mentor, had unknowingly led me to my \u2018fit.\u2019 That fit turned out to be in the community engagement and non profit field with CommUniverCity. Here, I\u2019ve been led by amazing mentors like Maria, Erica, Paul, Imelda, and others. I have also had the chance to lead community members and students. The positive results of being able to lead and collaborate with like-minded individuals and groups working toward a common goal is a driving force in planning and implementing CommUniverCity\u2019s Community Leadership Program<\/a> (CLP) where the goal is to bring out the leader in residents that are participating from the sidelines. <\/span><\/p>\n Unlike SNI, we do not have a direct link to City Manager\u2019s office at a moment\u2019s notice and we do not regularly meet with four city offices to triage resource and efforts. But similar to SNI, CommUniverCity\u2019s CLP listens to its participants, builds and develops relationships, and responds to community needs. The positive results that drive the continuation of \u00a0these programs are possible because, as exemplified by SNI, the NAG, the CLC, and Project Hope, this beautiful City of San Jose cares about creating leaders from all walks of life and knows that community leadership matters<\/span> Today, at a very grassroots level, CommUniverCity is in the midst of identifying leaders to participate in our most recent installment of our CLP. In this Spanish language program, participants will learn practical skills to lead their communities in issues that closely affect their safety and quality of life. Potential candidates can sign up at cucsj.org\/clp<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cucsj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/84f4c-uptown-festival-planning-5.jpg?resize=526%2C302&ssl=1\")
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