Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC)
A Partnership of WESCO and IUPUI

The IUPUI Office of Neighborhood Resources currently manages the Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) project. COPC is a 3 year grant which IUPUI received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in January,1998 with WESCO as a community partner. The COPC grant focuses the work of IUPUI in partnership with the WESCO community on the areas of economic development, education policy and programming, and organizational development initiatives. The COPC project includes the IUPUI departments/offices of the Center for Public Service and Leadership, Small Business Development Center, School of Nursing Institute for Action Research in Community Health, and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Examples of COPC projects

America Reads Tutoring Program
Since the fall, 1997 IUPUI work-study students have been placed at 5 community organizations in the Near Westside neighborhoods to tutor children in preschool through 6th grade. The tutors work with children both one on one and in small group settings on a variety of educational activities to help them improve their reading and writing skills. By providing elementary students with individualized attention and tutoring, along with parental involvement and quality school instruction, the program strives to raise reading levels among participating students.

Education Forum and Task Force
In October, 1998 COPC assisted in the organization of an Education Forum to discuss the recent court decision to overturn the busing order that has sent children from inner city Indianapolis to the surrounding township schools for the past 2 decades. Panelists were brought together from the Indianapolis city county council, Wayne Township Public Schools, and Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) to inform residents from the Near Westside neighborhoods of the impact this court decision would have on their community and its children. Overturning the busing order will cause an influx of children into Indianapolis Public Schools beginning in 2005. In order to accommodate the increase in their student body IPS will need to begin making plans to reopen or build new schools. Over the years seven public schools have been closed in the Near Westside community and currently there are no public schools located in the area.

Out of the Education Forum an Education Task Force was developed to give residents of the Near Westside a voice during this transition time in the public school system. In the spring,1999 the Near Westside Education Task Force learned that IPS would be reopening a school in the Near Westside community by the fall, 2000. The Task Force decided that they wanted to be proactive to impact what this new school will look like in their community. One of the Task Forces primarily projects has been researching the feasibility of a kindergarten through 12th grade school that would provide comprehensive program for both students and community residents. The Task Force will present a plan for the new school to the IPS Board and Superintendent.

WESCO-IUPUI Job Links
In March 1999 COPC organized the Job Links event with the intent of linking residents in need of employment with IUPUI, Clarion Health (a consortium of Riley Children’s Hospital, IU Hospital, and Methodist Hospital), Goodwill and Wishard Hospital departments which had current job openings. A variety of job openings were available including maintenance, clerical, and professional positions. 102 residents participated in Job Links. Potential employees could fill out applications, complete data entry and typing tests, and some even had on the spot job interviews.

WESCO Retreat
COPC organized a retreat for representatives of WESCO to revisit their strategic plan. WESCO’s original strategic plan was developed in 1997 and over the past 2 years it has helped guide community activities (e.g., the original COPC grant proposal was based on areas of need identified in the strategic plan). The city of Indianapolis is requiring neighborhood organizations to review their strategic plans by the fall of 1999.

Economic Development
The IUPUI School of Public and Environmental Affairs has produced a series of economic development reports for the Near Westside neighborhood. The purpose of these reports is to review the economic needs of the community and how they fit into the economic structure of the rest of Indianapolis. The final product of these reports will be a proposal for community review to improve the economic structure of the neighborhood by drawing on the economic strengths of the larger Indianapolis community.

Westside Business Alliance & the Virtual Business Incubator
COPC has been working with WESCO and the Weed & Seed project to reorganize the Westside small business organization, now called the Westside Business Alliance (WBA). Since the spring of 1998 the WBA has held monthly business forums for area small businesses on such subjects as creating a market and valuing your business, self- employment: from dream to reality, frequently asked questions about taxes, and selling your image. Guest speakers have included representatives from the IRS, Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Neighborhood Self-Employment Initiative. The WBA is currently working on developing a virtual small business incubator to address capacity building of Near Westside small businesses. The purpose of the incubator is to build the capacity of small businesses by providing support services, professional networking and encouraging entrepreneurship on the Near Westside.

HOPE VI Subcontract

In June of 1999 the Office of Neighborhood Resources were awarded with a subcontract from the Indianapolis Housing Agency to provide supportive services for residents in the public housing communities of Eagle Creek and Concord both of which are located in the Near Westside of Indianapolis. Eagle Creek and Concord public housing communities were recipients of a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOPE VI grant which allowed for the complete redevelopment of the housing units from apartments into single and double family dwellings. The HOPE VI grant also included supportive services for residents such as transportation, childcare, case management and workforce development to help residents reach self-sufficiency.

Through the HOPE VI Subcontract the IUPUI Office of Neighborhood Resources provides services to residents in employment training, case management, and athletic mentors for youth.

Employment Training: Residents of Eagle Creek and Concord can access the non-credit certificate programs through the IUPUI Community Learning Network in an effort to develop needed skills to become gainfully employed. Certificate programs include paralegal, office management, human resources, pharmacy tech, accounting, customer service etc. After completion of a certificate program every effort is made to link residents with employment opportunities at IUPUI, Wishard Hospital, Clarion Health, and other local businesses. Assistance is also given to residents who are interested in entering a degree program at IUPUI. The Office of Neighborhood Resources helps residents to get through the maize of applying and attending an institution of higher education.

Case Management: IU Social Work students have been placed at two local multi-service centers (i.e., Christamore House, Hawthorne Community Center) to provide case management services from residents of Eagle Creek and Concord. The social work students work one-on-one with residents to help them develop a plan to reach self-sufficiency and financial independence. They also help residents to access the available resources in the community such as child care, GED courses, support groups etc.

Athletic Mentors: IUPUI Physical Education students provide recreational programming for youth from Eagle Creek and Concord. The athletic mentors help youth to build their self-esteem by teaching them skills such as swimming, basketball, soccer, team building.

IHEAR (Indianapolis Higher Education Access Resources)

The Office of Neighborhood Resources was the natural home for the IHEAR project. IHEAR is a collaborative effort of seven central Indiana colleges and universities, Butler University, Franklin College, IUPUI, Ivy Tech State College, Marian College, Martin University and University of Indianapolis. In addition, the Marion County Public Library System and the Indiana Career and post-Secondary Advancement Center have joined the effort to encourage more students to consider post-secondary education.

When facing post-secondary education decisions, potential students face an overwhelming maze of information, programs, and services. I-HEAR is building a conduit to link potential students to services they need to make sound decisions to meet their educational goals. The I-HEAR conduit will link together Indianapolis area colleges and universities, public libraries, community centers, neighborhood based organizations, financial aid providers, high school guidance counselors, and post-secondary information providers in a different kind of distribution system.

I-HEAR is an advocate for potential students. By focusing the efforts of its partners on the needs of users of post-secondary information and guidance, I-HEAR can make access to the process of education barrier free for the diverse population seeking life-long learning. I-HEAR will enhance higher education access efforts without competing for scarce resources. Working together through I-HEAR, the partners will increase the number of people successfully enrolling in post-secondary education.