By JT Arowosaye, November 24, 2016
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early Nearly 25 years ago, the Vermont-Slauson region of South Los Angeles was one of the several neighborhoods, on many levels, devastated by the L.A. race riots of 1992. But even before the civil unrest, the region was fighting to foster business growth and economic development in an area not conducive to such outcomes. Now flash forward to 2016, and Vermont –Slauson is an entirely different community – one experiencing a financial and commercial rebirth thanks to the Vermont- Slauson Economic Development Corporation.
The VSEDC is a community, non-profit organization established in 1979 by former Mayor Tom Bradley, but began operations after responding to the neighborhood’s economic environment in 1981.
Marva Smith Battle - Bey, an urban development expert, was the executive director of the corp. since the early eighties, but died April 7 of this year, according to Leslie Elliot, the VSEDC’s event and press coordinator.
“She basically, you know, worked to better the conditions in this area for over, you know, thirty years,” Elliot said.
“[Marva Smith Battle – Bey] left behind a legacy that the community will be forever grateful for. She has done so much to help small businesses and the economy in this community, but her positive energy and work with VSEDC is what we’ll remember most about her."
- Maxine Waters, California's 43rd District Congresswoman
The VSEDC Board of Directors announced Tuesday on their Facebook and Twitter pages that Joesph Rouzan, previously the director of L.A.’s Business Source program, has replaced Battle – Bey.
Rouzan will now be the one to oversee the corp. working with the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, Community Development Department and Mayor’s Office to continue aiding Vermont-Slauson’s revitalization.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California’s 43rd district spoke out about the deceased executive director and said the South L.A. community will miss Battle - Bey dearly.
“[Marva Smith Battle – Bey] left behind a legacy that the community will be forever grateful for. She has done so much to help small businesses and the economy in this community, but her positive energy and work with VSEDC is what we’ll remember most about her,” Waters said.
Examples of this work include establishing water and electricity conservation initiatives, shopping and retail centers in Vermont -Slauson, and low – income housing projects. The VSEDC’s efforts under Battle – Bey also created various community well-being and outreach initiatives that donated to local schools, charities and organizations.
However, one of the organization’s improvement measures that really targets restructuring the neighborhood’s economy is the business development initiative. Through city funding, the VSEDC operates two major business incubators in the area: the Business Enterprise Center on Slauson Ave and the Business Source Center on Western Ave.
Both facilities provide entrepreneurial training, counseling, and monetary services. Specifically, Vermont-Slauson residents can attend a three or eight weeks business - planning class, quarterly loan clinics and summits geared toward the Hispanic community. Sylvia Gomez and her brother Sergio registered for VSEDC classes to improve their hispanic food truck business (watch this video to hear more about their business).
Elliot explained that by these programs supporting the community’s small businesses and its entrepreneurs while working to bring in new business, it will hopefully replenish vacant jobs and lower the unemployment rate in the region.
Currently, South L.A.’s unemployment rate is about seven percent and has gradually dropped. Nevertheless, it is still slightly higher than L.A. County’s and California’s overall unemployment rates based on research in a Southern California Public Radio article.
So how does the VSEDC know whether or not their initiatives are working effectively in the community?
Community Wealth, an organization dedicated to neighborhood improvement, reported on their website that the VSEDC has done the following for the area:
“We got to make sure this neighborhood keeps on this path to getting better so that the younger generation can reap the benefits. We can’t go back to the way things were in ’92.”
- Arthur Ukwu, Vermont-Slauson Resident
The VSEDC has also published success stories of residents who have completed their business workshops and gone on to start their own companies.
READ SUCCESS STORIES HERE
“Look, I know [the VSEDC] is claiming that they are the ones helping this neighborhood, but I don’t buy that. If anything, our economy has gotten better on its own because we are out the recession and people are not really destroying L.A. anymore,” said Ron Meyers, a resident who has lived in the Vermont-Slauson district for 33 years. “At the end of the day, a couple of workshop or events isn’t [sic] going to fix all the problems in South L.A.”
Arthur Ukwu,49, said he believes his neighborhood has improved, but advised that the VSEDC needs to make sure they maintain the area’s progress for the future.
“We got to make sure this neighborhood keeps on this path to getting better so that the younger generation can reap the benefits. We can’t go back to the way things were in ’92,” said Ukwu.
As for the VSEDC’s future plans to continue bettering the community, Elliot said there will continue to be more entrepreneurship classes, conferences and initiatives developed for the neighborhood. But particularly, there will be an emphasis on applying social media tools such as blogging, Snapchat and Facebook to these programs in order to reflect how closely business and social media are intertwined nowadays.
Yes, 25 years ago, it may have seemed as though the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood and its potential were burning to the ground from the race riots.“But, you know, somethings have to burn in order to emerge. I believe the VSEDC has helped this community to emerge,” said Ukwu.
Walk Through Tour of VSEDC Business Classes Office Building
VSEDC Business and Social Media Classes Calendar (English and Spanish Classes)