The #OurNeighborhoods Peer Learning Program creates a knowledge-sharing and networking space where participants working in community-based organizations (CBOs) can learn from each other and support one another in overcoming challenges in organizing low-income Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities around issues of gentrification and displacement. Through sub-granting and cohort meetings, this program aims to: 

• Increase the capacity for CBOs to engage in organizing work that prevents and stops displacement and gentrification;
• Create a peer learning community of organizers and advocates who are committed to this work.

Since 2022, the program has engaged with over 30 staff from local CBOs to meet regularly for six months and facilitated discussions about base-building, leadership development, and campaign planning. Moreover, we have coordinated an annual in-person convening for participants to deepen their professional and personal connections with each other and with other organizations in the broader National CAPACD network.

Based on 2017 Census data, National CAPACD’s analysis shows that nearly three-quarters of low-income AAs and NHPIs live in the most expensive housing markets. The data also demonstrate a disproportionate likelihood for low-income AAs and NHPIs to live in expensive housing markets, consistent across type of housing (rental vs. ownership) and geography (regions vs. neighborhoods). As such, AA and NHPIs are at a high risk of being displaced from their homes, detrimentally impacting our communities’ health and overall well-being. Gentrification and displacement are major threats to the stability of AA and NHPI communities, and in response, National CAPACD is committed to increasing the capacity of local CBOs to defend their neighborhoods and sharing technical and strategic expertise.