Rockwood Community Collaborative

The Rockwood Community Collaborative in Anaheim, CA, provides supportive services for 48 formerly homeless children and their families, as well as 15 permanent supportive housing homes for those living with a mental health diagnosis. At the outset of development planning, Jamboree’s Community Collaborative strategy brings together a variety of community stakeholders to identify shared goals and design customized programming. This is the first step in our four-step process that begins with a community needs assessment and leads to an ongoing action plan that supports the desired outcomes.

How do we measure success? As the community’s needs change over time, services are redirected or expanded, bringing new partners into the collaborative. Here’s how the Rockwood Community Collaborative began and is evolving.

THEN

Rockwood opened in 2016, a new construction, multifamily affordable apartment community adjacent to Abraham Lincoln Elementary School. The original collaborative included the City of Anaheim, the Anaheim Elementary School District, Innovative Housing Opportunities (IHO), and the Illumination Foundation. With 48 of the apartment homes serving families as part of the City of Anaheim’s Homeless Assistance Pilot Program (HAPP), initial efforts focused on helping residents achieve and maintain housing stability, improved health, and increased financial stability.

Jamboree used a design build strategy that included property space for prospective services, forming the Community Collaborative with local partners from the surrounding neighborhood during planning and development. Other partners included the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), Western Youth Services, and the Anaheim Central Library. Residents who were Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) clients living with a mental health diagnosis received clinical supportive services provided through Program of Assertive Community Treatment, an Orange County Healthcare Agency program.

NOW

Today, the Rockwood Community Collaborative is a transforming network of 10+ partners that includes many of the original partners such as Orange County Family Justice Center and the Dragon Kim Foundation, as well as new partners like Chrysalis, a nonprofit that is changing lives through jobs by offering residents complimentary services to prepare for, apply for, and keep jobs, with resume-building workshops and interview preparation, work wardrobe clothing, and bus passes to and from interviews.

• The Community Collaborative works together with residents to identify and address new or changing needs of their community.
• Residents see that onsite property management and services staff are working together to deliver services.
• Many residents receive mental health services and have regular access to medical services to keep them stably housed.
• The Community Collaborative meets bi-weekly to review residents’ current status, changing needs, or financial status, and plan what’s next over the coming months.
• More than half of residents maintain their income, and many of those have increased their income since living at Rockwood.
• A resident committee provides an ongoing opportunity to address issues, suggest changes, and ask questions.

NEXT

The Community Collaborative fuels the success of quality affordable housing by creating a platform for real change, with a flexible adaptability that delivers improved outcomes where needed most – in education, nutrition and health, technology, and medical and mental health services. Needs and objectives are assessed annually, often leading to new partnerships that foster continued momentum. Going forward, the focus of the Rockwood Community Collaborative is evolving to include:

• Joint programming with other Jamboree properties – like leveraging technology to connect 10 different Jamboree communities online in shared activities – succeeds in helping residents feel socially connected.
• A clinical services manager provides an assessment and helps formulate a Housing Stability Plan for residents, who are then connected with relevant resources and receive regular follow-up to support their goals.
• Regular outcome assessments measure resident satisfaction and success and help identify changing needs.

Learn more

Explore the success of the Rockwood Community Collaborative.

• Learn how a creative partnership with a neighboring senior community brought the arts to life for Rockwood residents.
• See how the Rockwood Community Collaborative changes the lives of residents like Lauren.
• Take a look at how Rockwood kids and students REACH New Horizons.
• Find out how Jamboree’s after-school programs help kids REACH their full potential and build confidence for life.
• Visit Rockwood to see the Collaborative up close and in action. Contact Natalie Reider, Senior Vice President, Community Operations, to get started.
• Follow us on your favorite social channels @JamboreeHousing for ongoing success stories and new developments.

Partner with us

• DONATE: Do you have a business or service in the Anaheim area? Consider how you might offer your goods or services to improve the lives of working families and children. Contact Jimena Galvan, Senior Manager of Community Impact.
• VOLUNTEER: Be a part of building better lives when you offer assistance with activities and events, like fitness classes or after-school programs. Find out more about how to become a Jamboree volunteer.
• GIVE: Your tax-deductible financial contribution can help provide gift cards, prizes, or new learning activities that offer greater opportunity for residents. Give today.