Building Community Connections: An Evaluation of the Seward Neighborhood Group's Resident Facilitation Services at Seward Towers East and West

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the current state of resident facilitation services provided by the Seward Neighborhood Group (SNG) at the Seward Towers. The Seward Towers (Seward Tower East and Seward Tower West) collectively provide affordable housing to almost 900 people. The residents of the towers are a diverse group, including a significant percentage of senior citizens, with a majority of the total population being immigrants and refugees from East Africa. Seward Neighborhood Group has been contracted by the Seward Towers Corporation to provide resident facilitation services at the Seward Towers since about 1996. SNG involvement is through facilitation of the Resident Discussion Group, which meets monthly at both Towers. The Discussion Groups provide residents with an opportunity to bring up maintenance, safety, or other concerns from the as well as hear from management about potential solutions and other issues. In addition SNG helps to organize special events and activities for the residents periodically throughout the year. The report makes recommendation for program changes to SNG.