Published on August 18, 2026
The Southeast Community
For decades, the cities, neighborhoods, and unincorporated areas between the I-710, I-110, I-10, I-5, and I-105 freeways acted as separate entities. A region originally developed for industrial use, it has suffered from historic underinvestment and neglect, leading to lingering problems including housing, unemployment, and public health.
To address these and uplift the Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) region, the SELA Collaborative was founded in 2011. The Collaborative realized that a first step towards mobilizing support was to stop treating these neighborhoods as separate and instead recognize that this was a single, larger community with a distinct culture, voice, and identity.
The group tapped NDSC to help them build out a comprehensive community profile, pulling in detailed, cross-sectional data across multiple domains of the SELA experience. From health to income, small business loans to voter turnout, NDSC mapped out the region in detail. As a result, SELA organizations were better positioned to secure resources and align priorities, as we have previously written about in other data stories.
As a facilitator and coordinator for other non-profits active in the area, the SELA Collaborative distributes grants provided by the California Community Foundation. This year, it has awarded three new grants. Combined with targeted NDSC data, these groups can use the additional resources to provide specific support to the neighborhoods and residents that can most benefit from them.
NewStart Housing Corporation
Founded in 1982, NewStart Housing Corporation focuses on developing new and preserving existing affordable housing. Designated as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO), NewStart takes a holistic approach for those most in need, particularly seniors and low-income families. NewStart can help them connect with Emergency Rent Relief, CARE utility support, as well as assistance for rental applications and housing referrals.
SELA is an area that struggles with rent burden, defined as households that spend more than 30% of income on rent. In some neighborhoods, as much as 95% of its residents are rent burdened. Mapping out where the need is most pressing can focus resources on targeted support.
NewStart’s services extend far past housing, however. NewStart also partners with other organizations to connect residents with health and wellness resources, nutrition programs, childcare, and more. The goal is to revitalize neighborhoods by helping the community that currently lives there afford to stay there.
Hub Cities Consortium
The Hub Cities Consortium (HCC) started helping cities in SELA with their workforce development needs in 1988. By providing resources that connect job seekers with employers, HCC helps grow the region’s economy in a way that uplifts the people who live there. The organization works with people of all backgrounds, from entry level applicants without a degree to the elderly, veterans, ex-offenders, foster youth in transition, and people with disabilities. It can provide career counseling and coaching, job readiness training, and even skills training.
These services are badly needed in SELA, as the total number of jobs in the region has been declining. In 2023, there were about 116,000 jobs in the area, compared to 133,000 in 2018. Though the overall unemployment rate is similar to the rest of the county at about 8.3%, a shrinking job market is a drain on the local economy. NDSC has mapped which neighborhoods are most in need of aid, as certain areas have unemployment rates as high as 19%.
It is not just job seekers that HCC can help, though. A thriving local economy must be grown and tended from both ends. Employers can also partner with the organization to assist with employee recruitment, workforce training, and business consulting. HCC’s efforts have filled thousands of jobs in SELA over the years.
SELA Bicycle Center
A bicycle shop in the City of Bell, the SELA Bicycle Center began life as a community cycling club. Far more than just a store, the Center’s goal is to improve public health, reduce transportation costs, and create more connected neighborhoods by encouraging the use of this human-powered transport. The Center provides riding lessons for all ages in both English and Spanish. It also organizes regular community rides around the area.
In most neighborhoods in SELA, less than 3.0% of the population use bicycles or walk to commute to work. Bell itself is only marginally better. By contrast, the vast majority of commuters drive their own car, reaching as high as 87% of the population in some neighborhoods. Bicycles are hugely underutilized in the area.
The Center’s hope is to reduce overall reliance on cars as a mode of transportation, which would alleviate traffic, lower carbon emissions, and improve community health.
Authors & Contributors
Nicholas Werner
Nicholas Werner is an MPP student at the USC Price School of Public Policy. He has been a writer and editor in the private sector for over 15 years, returning to school now to build out quantitative and analytical skills. On the side, he writes articles about aerospace.
