Community Change Experience 2022
Site Visit Registration

On Wednesday, October 26, CCE guests will embark on immersive Palm Beach County experiences. During these experiences, guests will hear from residents, small businesses, public institutions and community organizers about the creative work they are doing to enhance community wellbeing. There are three Immersive Experiences to choose from:

The Set, The City of Delray Beach

With a long history of community organizing, The Set is the historically black community in Delray Beach consisting of 29 neighborhoods. The community-driven transformation plan is a powerful example of the assets, vision and interests this community holds. Visitors will experience a range of efforts grounded in this community-driven vision – from the enhancement of education and public spaces, to addressing housing and behavioral health – all while honoring the community’s history. Visitors will learn about:

• The Set’s rich community history and organizing roots that led to the establishment of community institutions such Village Academy, Pompey Park and S.D. Spady Elementary School, all community pillars for residents of The Set
• Creative resident-led approaches to address behavioral health in community-based settings like hair salons and faith-based venues, and in partnership with the local police department and Homeless Coalition 
• Multisolving efforts through creative collaborations such as growth of urban orchards and generational wealth 

Attendees will enjoy lunch at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum in The Set, followed by a short walk to visit local pioneers in faith-based settings. The bus tour will stop at key educational institutions, and The Grove, the urban orchard. 

The City of Lake Worth Beach

Known for its vibrant downtown and distinctive neighborhoods, visitors will  learn from community-led efforts focused on increasing unity, safety and a sense of belonging through the built environment. Beginning with concentrated efforts in the Whispering Palms neighborhood, community-led projects such as neighborhood clean-ups, the Adopt-A-Street program, and investments in parks have led to strong ties between residents and the city government and has cultivated community agency to advocate for the changes they want to see for a thriving, equitable community. Visitors will learn about:

• The ways the Lake Worth Beach community has connected behavioral health to the built environment 
• Community-led efforts to reimagine a neighborhood wall built during the segregation era as a Unity Wall 
• Neighborhood clean-ups that catalyzed initiatives for recycling, tree planting and other environmental projects that ultimately benefit resident wellness
• Innovative partnerships impacting change including  catalyzing a local recovery orientated film festival, deepening resident and local city government relationships, the sheriff’s department and hyper-local community groups 
  
  

Lunch will be provided at Lake Worth Beach’s oceanside plaza, followed by stops highlighting recent progress toward increasing resident unity and community pride.

Glades Region

Located in the western part of Palm Beach County, the Glades region is a rural and primarily agricultural area that includes the three communities of South Bay, Belle Glade and Pahokee, as well as unincorporated areas. Known for its expansive sugarcane fields and the natural western border of the vast Lake Okeechobee, the Glades region is working to change the communities’ narrative - one of poverty, isolation and hopelessness -- to lifting the communities’ strengths and infusing hope for all generations. Visitors will learn about:

•  Efforts to capitalize on social capital through the Open Table model
• Faith-based health educators and their community-based participatory research-related efforts to screen and bring awareness to residents about the importance of brain health 
• How the community is narrowing the digital divide for local youth and seniors 
• Resident-led projects improving conditions for themselves and their neighbors 
  
  

Lunch will be provided at the Pahokee Marina overlooking Lake Okeechobee. Additional stops will showcase the region’s history and points of community pride. 

CCE guests may choose only one immersive experience to attend on October 26th.

Please make your selection and provide additional guest information below by Wednesday, October 12, 2022.