Division of Housing and Community Development
Division Home (FloridaCommunityDevelopment.org)
Front Porch Florida Initiative
A Community Revitalization and Development Initiative
Introduction
The Front Porch Florida Initiative was created in 1999 as a means to rebuild distressed communities. Front Porch Florida takes up this challenge to revitalize underserved communities that are dedicated to positive cooperation and communication to make their community a better place to live, work, and play.
As a part of the initiative, the Front Porch Communities are provided the educational and technical assistance to help residents plan and implement projects that will make long-term changes. Throughout the process, the communities can be reassured that the Office of Urban Opportunity is committed to their success and will help them form long term relationship with public and private partners, provide technical assistance and guidance, and whatever means possible to ensure that the communities find the resources they need and complete the goals they have presented to the residents and stakeholders.
The Youth Empowerment, Leadership and Development Academy (YELDA) strives to improve the life skills and increase the life chances of underprivileged students in the Front Porch Florida communities.
Since the Office of Urban Opportunity office is within the Department's Division of Housing and Community Development, the following technical and program assistance is readily available to the Front Porch Florida Initiative:
- The Florida Building Commission
- Community Services Block Grant Program
- Division of Community Planning
- Community Development Block Grant Program
- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
- Special District Information Program
- Weatherization Assistance Program
Utilizing these resources, the Division can further offer the Front Porch Florida Initiative:
- Assistance in a holistic, collaborative planning process for communities.
- Partnerships with local governments to help implement the community's plans.
- Provide coordinated technical assistance to the neighborhood during both planning and implementation phases.
- Review community plans, coordinate the implementation phase through resource/program identification within the Department of Community Affairs, and facilitate the sequencing of resources to effectuate both physical and social changes.
Missions and Goals
Missions
- To encourage, assist, and support Florida's urban residents in their effort to preserve core neighborhood values and to help them identify and strengthen their existing community assets.
- To foster an atmosphere of cooperation and understanding in neighborhoods, empowering neighbors to create an oasis of hope for positive change within their communities through committed local activism.
- To work as a switchboard and ambassador of support by uniting individuals, neighborhoods, and resources as cooperating partners with a common goal of reclaiming Florida's communities.
- To help promote neighborhoods that have successfully revitalized themselves, as role models of what all Florida urban communities can aspire to become.
Goals
- Establish Front Porch Communities across Florida. These are specialized communities that will share a vision with all key players that make a healthy community. This unique relationship of residents, government, and service providers will develop new ways to resolve community improvement issues.
- Have each community develop a specialized and detailed Neighborhood Action Plan that will serve as a blueprint to all key players on what the community needs are and how they would like to implement those changes. It is through this document that residents will be empowered to define the problems specific to their community and develop the solutions that will result in change.
- Manage Front Porch Florida funds necessary to supplement the implementation of the Neighborhood Action Plan.
- Connect the Front Porch Communities with federal and state funding, other agencies and departments, and private and not-for-profit resources necessary to implement the Neighborhood Action Plan.
- Simplify administration, create strategic alliances and networks of community collaboration, and develop and forge better relationships between Front Porch Communities and other community, corporate and faith-based organizations.
Funding Initiatives
The most popular and profitable means for a community to fund its project is through grant opportunities. After a community has received its designation, it is eligible to receive funding from the following sources:
- Office of Urban Opportunity's Front Porch Florida Revitalization Funds
- Public sources - Federal and State agencies
- Private sources - Corporations and foundations
To make funding easier for the communities, the following advantages come with the designation:
- Front Porch Florida Revitalization Funds are used to provide match and to leverage other grant opportunities applied for by the community.
- Front Porch Communities will receive priority in state agency funding opportunities. This is not the same as actually automatically receiving the award. The community will need to follow the same criteria and instructions as any other community.
Additional Information
- Adriane Burgess
(850) 487-9556
Fax: (850) 487-9544
frontporch@dca.state.fl.us