The yearlong 30th anniversary celebration for the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative heats up with a highly anticipated Homecoming Weekend. On Friday, Nov. 7, DSNI will host a community screening of the film Gaining Ground at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester. On Saturday, Nov. 8, the DSNI Homecoming Gala will take place at UMass Boston. Christopher Jones, DSNI’s current executive director, will be joined by all of DSNI’s former executive directors, including Gus Newport and John Barros, now Boston’s Chief of Economic Development. This grassroots fundraiser will be filled with Dudley Street neighborhood supporters and partners who want to sustain the growth of a robust Roxbury community. See what DSNI has done over the years by viewing a historic timeline and 30th anniversary stories on their site
For the past three decades, residents of the Dudley community have been rebuilding their neighborhood literally from the ground up. Thirteen hundred lots, once neglected and abandoned, now represent the wellspring from which the vibrant urban village — a concept conceived by residents — has emerged. Today, those lots are cleaned up and home to more than 500 families living in permanently affordable housing, parks, a greenhouse and an urban farm on the community land trust, new schools and community centers.
Using the successful strategies of community engagement, resident and youth leadership, public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder collaboration, DSNI has established a track record of supporting early childhood and youth development and substantive school linkages. Maintaining a commitment to resident leadership and local control, DSNI provides a vehicle for community residents to plan, create and manage the Dudley neighborhood. Now DSNI is one of the few nationally prominent Promise Neighborhoods, with multi-year funding from the US Department of Education to link place-based change with support of children and families from birth to career.
Through the years, DSNI has been supported by a wide variety of highly respected funders.
The Riley Foundation was the first major funder of DSNI and they have recommitted to the neighborhood by being the lead sponsor of the DSNI 30th anniversary celebration. Other key supporters include the Barr, Hyams and Ford Foundations, The Boston Foundation and ArtPlace America.
