Princeton Public Library
Community Resource File
Isles, Inc. (CRF ID #665)
ADDRESS
10 Wood Street
Trenton, NJ 08618
PHONE
609-341-4700
FAX
609-393-9513
EMAIL
svalentine@isles.org
ADMINISTRATOR
Susan Valentine, Senior VP
HOURS
MON-FRI 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
DESCRIPTION
Isles, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to foster more self-reliant families in healthy sustainable communities. Isles seeks to address immediate critical needs, such as housing, health, financial literacy, jobs and hunger, while pursuing long-term equitable solutions that support self-reliance and a healthy environment on a regional level. Through training, technical and organizating assistance, real estate development planning, education, research and advocacy, Isles improves social economic and environmental health in Trenton and surrounding suburbs.
SERVICES
Affordable housing
Advocacy
Environmental education
Community gardening/farming
Neighborhood training/development
Youth job training
PROGRAMS
Career Center: Provides a peer-based setting for young adults (age 16-24) seeking education, training, career counseling and job and higher education placement. Trainees spend half the day in academic classes and the other half developing vocations, including construction, landscaping, surveying, etc. Each class rehabilitates at least one abandoned home in Trenton each year. The Center is a satellite school of the Trenton School District
Community Planning and Research: Facilitates community involvement by helping residents organize, identify, and address immediate needs and building their capacity to meet long-term challenges without Isles' assistance.
Regional Policy Planning: currently analyzing the socioeconomic disparities in New Jersey with the intention of mounting an extensive educational and organizating campaign to foster sustainable growth in urban centers and surrounding communities
Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) Program: Works to create support groups that help parents develop the skills needed for healthy parent-child interaction and involvement in the child's education and well-being. For more information, contact Alex Allen at aallen@isles.org
Environment and Community Health: Engages residents, environment and health professionals and government officials to improve health and quality of urban life and to clean up and reuse former brownfield sites. Isles works to make the process of brownfield cleanup accessible to ordinary citizens, not just technical experts.
Community Gardens Program: provides materials, technical and organizational assistance to groups of Trenton residents seeking to transform vacant land into gardens or small parks. The program currently supports 43 community gardens and beautification sites in the City of Trenton. Families can grow their own produce and traditional foods not available in supermarkets.
Environmental Education Program: Hand-on activities, hikes, bike tours, summer camps and various programs in area schools connect students and adults to the natural world and teaches them about their own city and neighborhoods. The program includes both community-based and school projects. Contact Elyse Pivnic@Isles.org
Financial Self-Reliance: This program has 3 components: Financial Literacy, Individual Development Accounts (IDA) and Housing Counseling. The IDAs match dollar-for-dollar the savings of participants to buy a home, continue their education or start a business. Housing counseling helps participants navigate the home-buying process. Graduates of this program can purchase homes with only 1% to 3% down payments.
Real Estate Development: Focuses on land-use decision making at both the neighborhood level and the interconnected neighborhood and municipal level (or region). The program combines coalition building, policy research and education and project implementation.
Housing Program: Works within a neighborhood planning context to develop residential, commercial and open spaces. Isles builds new homes and renovates older homes for owners and renters, and provides first-time homeowners with long-term skills (such as budgeting, home maintenance and repair). The organization has built $38.7 million worth of projects, including 298 units of housing in Trenton. The staff also works on the local and state levels to promote community-based affordable housing policy. Contact Patrick Durkin, pdurkin@isles.org
PUBLICATIONS
Isles Newsletter - 3 times a year (available on website)
Isles Annual Report
FOUNDED
1981
SUBJECT
HOUSING
ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND SERVICES
ADVOCACY
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
DATE MODIFIED
05-31-06