2023

Year In Review

“The fervor of the community sought and brought solutions to systemic problems of state-sanctioned violence, housing, and other critical issues. I celebrate the power of the people and faith-based organizing.”

Pastor Curtis Smith

Executive Director, Faith in the Valley

“We gather in the same spirit, urgency, and determination that moved Nehemiah from weeping, to prayer, into action. We seek to bring about transformation that reflects the people’s will.”

Pastor Darlene Williams

Board Chair, Faith in the Valley

The Stories of our People

Since our founding in 2016, Faith in the Valley has worked to ensure that the voices and experiences of communities of color in the Central Valley are at the center of building a stronger, more equitable Central Valley.

New Community-Based Alternative to Police hits the streets

Policing in the Central Valley and across the nation has come under increasing scrutiny following police abuse and killings of people of color. C.A.L.L. Stockton began as the people’s initiative to re-imagine public safety. Now known as the Care Link Mobile Crisis Intervention Response, it just completed its first year of operation. Hear the story of the organizing journey that led to its inception.

Kids and families fight for safe parks and outdoor spaces

For too long, communities like the rural, unincorporated areas of Ford City in Kern County and other areas across the valley have lacked investment in parks and recreation, green space and other essentials that are vital to community well being. Faith in the Valley leaders from the Hispanic-Indigenous community are changing that. This year, they built support to improve the park in their neighborhood, in partnership with the county.

Hundreds send the message that Home is Sacred

For the hundreds of community residents and grassroots leaders who came together for our #HomeisSacred action in Modesto, the message was clear: our representatives cannot turn a blind eye to this crisis any longer. Hear the housing story of Faith in the Valley leader Delvina Johnson, a story that represents the story of many others who are working together across the state to make sure that #HomeisSacred.

Faith in the Valley

By the Numbers

27

Faith in the Valley has 27 active leadership teams, with another 5 in development.

200

Faith in the Valley has 200 core, or most involved, grassroots leaders, who in turn reach out to hundreds more.

4

Faith in the Valley leaders were appointed to serve on four new local boards and
advisory councils.

11

We hosted 11 gallery walks on the housing crisis and social housing in six different cities.

1,400+

People engaged in community action

19,000+

We are building a growing social media presence to activate engagement in immediate calls to action and ongoing campaigns.

Our Impact at a Glance

Community Land Trust

We created momentum for the creation of the first community land trust in the Central Valley and are helping to lead the emerging community land trust movement.

Eviction Protection Programs

With partners, we supported the start of an eviction protection program in Bakersfield, a pilot in Stockton and expansion of the Fresno program.

State Housing Policies

With PICO California and other partners, we engaged Central Valley voices in the effort to pass four new state housing policies to help prevent homelessness, to build affordable housing on faith lands and to make California the first state in the nation to pass social housing legislation.

Climate Justice and Jobs

Our green team received training on social justice, entrepreneurship and leadership, and launched an organic garden. They also planted over 1,000 trees and built a partnership to plant over 10,000 more to help combat the heat island effect and emissions.

Regional Economic Roadmap

We mobilized over 500 community members from McFarland and Taft to participate in the California Economic Resilience Fund process to shape a regional plan for a more equitable economy.

Restorative Justice

The alternative to policing program we helped start completed its first year of operation, helping thousands facing crises to access support. We’re also building the leadership of the formerly incarcerated, working to end officer-involved shootings and to build safe communities.

Years of Incarceration Prevented

The Faith in the Valley Participatory Defense team and partner attorney are stopping juvenile transfers to adult court and are empowering families to advocate for alternative approaches. We celebrate their pursuit of justice, which recognizes the inherent potential for growth and change in every young person. So far, they have prevented more than 270 years of incarceration.

Partner Spotlight

Fresno Housing

Faith in the Valley works with a wide range of partners across the Valley and the state. This year, we expanded our partnership with Fresno Housing, which is one of the largest public housing agencies in California and one of the top 20 in the nation.

Fresno Housing serves 46,000 residents

They administer nearly 13,000 Housing Choice Vouchers

They have over 80 housing developments

Half of the residents are extremely low-income

97% are People of Color

73% are families with children

Together, we’re working to ensure that residents have a strong voice in shaping their five-year strategic plan. This initiative holds tremendous potential to impact Fresno and the Central Valley housing landscape.

Grassroots Leader Voices

At the center of everything we do are the voices of grassroots leaders. We start at the community level where we build one to one relationships that help individuals begin to imagine a different future. Through leadership training around community organizing and civic engagement, we equip people most impacted by racism and other types of exclusion, to tell their stories, to build power and to act together for change.

“Faith in the Valley marked a before and after in my life. It taught me to believe in myself and made me see that my voice and my work have the power to make an impact.”

Carmen

Faith in the Valley Leader

Thank You

Let's keep building a stronger, more equitable Central Valley in 2024!

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