Will you join us?
We believe race and income shouldn’t determine anyone’s future in Long Beach. In our community, everyone should be safe, connected, and healthy.
An initiative of First 5 LA, Best Start Central Long Beach (BSCLB) is working to create the best possible community for young children and their families. Best Start brings together parents, community organizations, institutions, and others to improve local policies and resources to better support parents and create a community where children and families can thrive. Best Start also provides the skills-building and leadership training to help the group achieve its goals and ensure that children are safe, healthy, and ready to learn.
It takes caring, committed people like you to create a community where young children, starting at ages 0-5, and their families can thrive.
BSCLB is looking for community project proposals that will create social change for children and their families and be voted on by BSCLB community members.
Our four community change agenda goals guide our strategy to make “system change” in Long Beach:
Best Start doesn’t just meet community where they’re at – they address the root problems at hand to ensure children and families succeed in school and life.
Participate in our projects! Get to know the Leadership Team! Get ready for monthly partnership meetings! This is a space to make connections to others with similar experiences, get resources, be able to learn from community.
Contact Nubia Flores, Associate Director and learn how to get involved.
Learn all of our latest updates on our Facebook page and via our monthly Best Start e-newsletter. Sign up today.
Best Start’s success rests on a firm foundation of community members who form our Community Partnership. Members of the community are invited to join the monthly Partnership Meeting to find a space to contribute to this movement. Members of the Partnership have shared that their participation is always “meaningful” and a “reminder that it is possible to change our community.” It’s also a space to make connections to others with similar experiences and learn about resources in the community.
While in-person monthly community partnership meetings are on hold due to the pandemic, you can learn more about our ongoing work through our video series on YouTube or Facebook. We are also continuing to connect community members to one another and to important resources.
Listen to Best Start Leadership Team Member Angelica Murrillo and Partnership Member Lilia Ocampo talk about the impact of their involvement in the Best Start Community in this video.
Best Start brings together parents, community organizations, institutions, and others to improve local policies and resources to better support parents and create a community where children and families can thrive.
We provide translation and interpretation in Khmer and Spanish as well.
We focus on children ages 0-5 because we know that engaging them with their families and caregivers early-on will provide them resources they need to overcome any barriers in life.
Best Start also provides skills-building and leadership training to help the group achieve its goals and ensure that children are safe, healthy, and ready to learn.
Civic engagement workshops like the Parent Leadership Academy train parents to learn how to develop self-efficacy as a leader, the ins and outs of Long Beach Governance structures, how to develop an action plan for advocacy, and how to work together with community for positive change.
Leaders for Change aims to create a strong group of community leaders who will help alleviate the Housing Crisis in Long Beach. They will build leadership skills, increase their knowledge on Housing Justice issues and will be trained as trainers to pass this knowledge to their neighbors in the city.
Learn about resources to help children be safe, healthy, and ready to learn via our monthly e-newsletter. Also, find out about scholarships and other funding opportunities to support youth programming.
Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend resources within a budget. It’s a way to empower people within a community to get involved in budget decisions that will impact their lives.
Starting in 2019, Best Start Central Long Beach began using the Participatory Budgeting process to decide how to spend a significant portion of our budget on community identified projects. Through the Participatory Budgeting process, Best Start has been able to directly create and fund projects that help implement our community change agenda and improve the lives of children and their families.
Out of the 160+ ideas we received during our (PB) Idea Collection process, our Project Delegates have voted and selected several winning projects. Thank you to all community members who put their time and energy into creating such amazing projects to help build up our community! And a special shoutout to all the Fellows who dedicated time with each delegate to help their projects come to life.
Congratulations to our 2022 winners:
ESPAÑOL
LOS GANADORES SON…
We believe race and income shouldn’t determine anyone’s future in Long Beach. In our community, everyone should be safe, connected, and healthy.
Be part of creating a healthy Long Beach with low-income communities of color. Let’s build community knowledge, leadership, and power!
425 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802
Donate to help ensure race and income do not determine one’s future in Long Beach!
Long Beach Forward is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Tax ID# 87-4396256
