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 LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR Zev Yaroslavsky (l) with Estela Wilson, executive director of the Westwood Transitional Village, and Lt. Colonel Alfred Van Cleef, So. Calif. divisional commander, who display the 2002 NACo Achievement Award. |
BY COLLEEN FERGUSON
The Salvation Army West-wood Transitional Village, a 40-unit multi-family facility providing temporary housing and support services to help families achieve self-sufficiency, has been recognized for its innovation and effectiveness by the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Recognition came in the form of a 2002 NACo Achievement Award presented to the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission (CDC) for its role in the project.
“The Westwood Transitional Village is a creative and compassionate project. It provides the opportunity for families in need to make it onto the road of self-sufficiency. It would be my hope that we could establish successful partnerships like this throughout our county and elsewhere,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who presented the award to the CDC.
Yaroslavsky represents the West Los Angeles district where the village is located, and spoke at the dedication ceremony in March 2000.
The annual NACo Achievement Awards were created to recognize innovative county government programs. Established in 1935, the Washington, D.C., based NACo is the only national organization that represents county governments. The full-service enterprise aims to ensure that county officials have a strong voice in the nation’s capital.
The Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village was created through a partnership that included the Los Angeles County CDC. The CDC, which serves as the region’s affordable housing and community and economic development agency, provided more than $1.5 million of the approximately $8 million development cost.
