South LA Residents Launch Neighborhood Action Hubs to Build Care, Resilience, and Community Power
PICTURED ABOVE–CoCo Members volunteered to serve as Captains in the Neighborhood Action Hubs
On Saturday, September 27, more than 200 residents from South Los Angeles, community leaders, and volunteers gathered at the Community Coalition (8101 S. Vermont Avenue) to kick off South Central Rising and officially launch the first Neighborhood Action Hubs. The new Hubs—grassroots chapters led by block captains, volunteers, and neighbors—are designed to respond to South LA’s urgent challenges: rising unemployment, racial profiling, hospital closures, cuts to safety net programs like Medi-Cal and CalFresh, and the expansion of ICE surveillance under the administration’s $170 billion plan.
The Neighborhood Action Hubs will serve as networks of care and resilience, where neighbors can share resources when systems fail, provide mutual aid, and build local leadership. The goal is to establish hubs across South LA to strengthen community power and ensure families have the support they need.
“This is about South LA taking care of each other and reimagining how we build safety and resilience when the system refuses to,” said Community Coalition President & CEO Alberto Retana, who addressed the gathering.
The event began with breakfast and a community-building exercise, followed by an overview of the urgent issues facing South LA. Residents, including Brenda Anderson and Sylvia Coleman, shared personal stories about how the Hubs will make a difference in their neighborhoods. By the end of the day, dozens of volunteers had already signed up to serve as block captains and organize the first wave of Neighborhood Action Hubs.
“This is just the beginning,” said longtime South LA resident Sylvia Coleman. “We are creating a blueprint for how our community survives and thrives together.”
About South Central Rising: South Central Rising is a community-led initiative designed to strengthen resilience, deepen care networks, and build grassroots power in South Los Angeles through the creation of Neighborhood Action Hubs.