Fresno Voices: Innovation and Change in Central Fresno

Central Fresno’s diverse neighborhoods hold more than initially meets the eye. On this driving tour, you’ll hear first-hand accounts from local leaders who are aiming to transform their communities from the ground up. You’ll hear about the challenges these neighborhoods face and some of the innovative grassroots solutions to address them.

Starting and ending at Every Neighborhood Partnership’s (ENP) office on Van Ness Avenue, you’ll hear from Executive Director Andrew Feil. He’ll introduce Fresno’s community activists as you journey through neighborhoods like Hidalgo, Jackson, Lowell, and the Tower District. You’ll hear the human stories behind Fresno’s urban landscape from nonprofit directors, pastors, community organizers, and residents who are pursuing positive change in places where others see only problems.

As you drive, you’ll pass by areas where immigration, homelessness, human trafficking, youth development, and affordable housing challenges intersect with resilient community responses. You’ll visit significant sites including FIRM (Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries), the Fresno Mission’s City Center, community gardens, and revitalized housing projects.

On this 18-mile round-trip tour, you’ll have an opportunity to:

• Hear FIRM staff member Salim explain how refugees from more than 15 language groups are welcomed and supported in their transition to life in Fresno
• Explore City Center, Fresno’s geographic heart, where the Fresno Mission brings together 25 organizations to support families and youth facing homelessness, trafficking, and poverty
• Drive through the Hidalgo neighborhood, where community organizer Hector Chavez works with residents to overcome challenges created by past urban planning decisions
• Learn about the unique Jackson neighborhood, which deliberately mixed economic classes through intentional planning around public transportation routes
• Listen to Kim Feil addressing human trafficking on Belmont Avenue, including life-changing outreach programs and a safe house for women
• Discover how Esther Carver and the Lowell Community Development Corporation are creating equitable housing through renovation and resident services
• Pass by Susan B. Anthony Elementary School and learn how Artie Padilla built long-term relationships with families
• See Blackstone Avenue through the lens of Ivan Paz, who helped transform it from a car-centric corridor into a street designed for all residents

This tour invites you to see Fresno through a new lens, challenging you to recognize both signs of need and signs of hope.

Please note: this tour contains religious content of a Christian nature.

For speakers’ bios and contact information, visit everyneighborhood.org/blog/central-fresno-drive-tour/

To impact Fresno you have to love Fresno.
To love Fresno you have to know Fresno.
To know Fresno you have to explore Fresno.