In partnership with the Humans of St. Louis, the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis (CBN) curated a series of personal stories about the impact community development activities have had throughout the St. Louis region. The St. Louis Community Development in Action photography exhibit describes its goal, “Building better neighborhoods does not happen overnight and these stories showcase local champions who work tirelessly every day to revitalize the communities. The exhibit showcases the good that is happening in the neighborhoods and the people doing impactful place-based work in the region.” It features CBN’s 2023 Community Building Awardees and other powerful community development stories.

       
          Photo exhibit displayed on opening night at Intersect Arts Center in South St. Louis City 

Indiana Member’s Work to Advance ERA Programs Highlighted

Prosperity Indiana, a statewide association promoting community economic development, is highlighted as a successful case study for ensuring that emergency rental assistance (ERA) was visible and accessible to the lowest-income households in their communities and that ERA succeeded in preventing displacement. As members of NLIHC’s End Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions (ERASE) cohort, the Prosperity Indiana team works with key partners to educate program administrators, judicial partners, legal aid organizations, and other stakeholders to affect policy change and direct advocacy efforts for more than 794,000 renter households covered by the state’s seven ERA programs. The team encouraged ERA program administrators to engage in an “all of government approach.” These activities, combined with relationship-building at the community and administrative levels, led to enhanced ERA outreach strategies, improved ERA application processes, reductions in barriers to access, increased data transparency, and innovative eviction prevention strategies.