Fresno Voices: Faith and Resilience in West Fresno

Despite communities in Fresno California not thriving, you’ll find signs of hope and development if you know where to look. On this drive around West and Central Fresno, you’ll hear from Every Neighborhood Partnership (ENP), a non-profit outreach organization that ​​views churches as vital community partners.

You’ll also hear interviews and conversations with a few of their friends about how areas in need are being assisted. As you take in the Mural District, Chinatown, Downtown, and Tower District, you’ll learn more about Fresno, explore some often overlooked corners, and get to know its community members and ministries.

The tour starts and ends at the Leadership Training Center in the Mural District. As you drive around listening to stories from members of the community and taking in sites like Roeding Park, Legacy Commons, and YoVille Community Garden and Farm, we encourage you to take some time to reflect before rushing onto the next thing. You’ll hear from the people ENP has worked with over the years and you’ll get to know just a few of the thousands of people in Fresno who through their good faith and good will are helping to build up their community.

On this 17 miles round-trip, you’ll hear from:

• Andrew Feil, the Executive Director at Every Neighborhood Partnership who’ll be introducing Fresno’s community activists as you journey through its neighborhoods
• Carlos Huerta, the Executive Director of the Center for Community Transformation at Fresno Pacific University and works with local businesses wanting to make a positive social impact
• Aaron Foster of Advance Peace Fresno, a community-based public health and safety strategy organization, who got involved after his own son was murdered after getting involved in gangs
• Marcel Woodruff, a youth activist from Southwest Fresno with a background in tech
• Chris DeLeon, a Farm and Gardens program manager, who’ll tell you about the Yoville Community Garden and Urban Farm
• Pastor Jason Spencer, whose church launched a non-profit that can better serve the kids and families of this community
• Richard Burrell, Executive Director of Live Again Fresno, a youth center that works with children and families living in motels along Parkway Drive
• Aqualisha Davidson, the store director at Neighborhood Thrift, a local thrift store that’s on a mission to improve the community
• Heather Fenton, a local teacher who found the help she needed from her church

Our hope is that by the end of this 90-minute tour, you’ll come away with a better understanding of Fresno’s communities and a new appreciation for the impact that ordinary people can have in uplifting their neighborhoods.

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

For speakers’ bios and contact information, visit everyneighborhood.org/blog/west-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.