The Right Side of the Tracks

Not too long ago, about five years, Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood fit the old image of “the wrong side of the tracks.”

I heard that stereotype at a meeting while discussing our nighttime parade for Dia de los Muertos. I heard the comment, barely above a whisper, “I wouldn’t go into that neighborhood at night.”

I don’t know if that attitude comes from the fact that approximately 96% of La Colonia’s residents are of Latino descent or a perception of a high crime rate or the blight that runs rampant through the area, but times are changing in La Colonia.

The neighborhood has, for the past few years, enjoyed a growing, strong community empowerment movement that is ready, willing tand able to change a negative environment into a positive one and is now a thriving community ready to seek solutions to its problems.

In 1993, concerned residents, business owners and agency representatives who work in the neighborhood formed a coalition to reduce the availability of alcohol and other drugs to our youth and the residents of La Colonia. Thus, La Colonia Coalition Against Alcohol and Other Drugs was born.

Thanks to community policing and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the coalition was able to rid the neighborhood of irresponsible business practices of bar owners and alcohol outlets along Hayes Avenue. The number of alcohol outlets has dwindled from 20 to 11 in the La Colonia neighborhood. Unfortunately, that is still considered saturated and our work is far from over.

We believe that any business that sells alcoholic beverages in our community, or anywhere, should have a higher sense of responsibility than one that doesn’t sell alcohol. These merchants should take it upon themselves not to sell to minors or obviously intoxicated people and adhere to all laws governing the state license that allows the merchant to sell such beverages in the first place.

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We feel that business and community can coexist only if there is mutual respect and each of us follows the law.

This is what I call environmental prevention. If business owners and the community get together to change our environment in simple ways such as keeping sidewalks clean or removing graffiti quickly or calling police if they see people loitering, these simple actions would greatly reduce or eliminate harm to residents, damage to property or economic loss associated with the sale of alcohol in our neighborhood.

Alcohol outlets in La Colonia have been closed because those businesses have lost our respect by not being responsible and at times allowing vice and crime to come into our neighborhood. We are not going to allow it in our neighborhood anymore. Our community is empowered for change, and we ask merchants in our area to help us improve our overall quality of life.

Since our humble beginnings, the coalition has become a true grass-roots, community-based organization. Our membership comprises community residents, business owners and representatives of the La Colonia Village Tenants Assn., La Colonia Neighborhood Council and Watch, La Colonia Police Storefront and the Oxnard Housing Authority Public Housing Drug Elimination Program.

Through our collaborative efforts, we have been better able to serve the residents of La Colonia. Over the past few years, the coalition has been actively bringing an awareness to the community of the dangers of alcohol and other drugs through community fairs. Every year since 1994 the coalition has sponsored alcohol-free Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos celebrations. These events are very important because these holidays are a time when the alcohol beverage industry’s media tactics go into full steam, targeting Latinos through our culture.

The past year has been a busy one for the coalition. We have worked to reduce minors’ access to alcohol and change public policy concerning alcohol availability. This year the organization incorporated as the Coalition for Community Development Inc. More than 60 runners participated in a 5K run/walk fund-raiser to benefit the coalition’s plan to open a community cooperative market.

The coalition has also led a countywide media advocacy campaign against the Anheuser-Busch “frequent drinker program” promoted with the slogan “Buy the beer, get the gear.” This promotion encouraged overconsumption of Budweiser and also targeted specific ethnic groups and minors.

Earlier this month, the coalition and other community members applauded the state suspensions of beer and wine licenses at two of La Colonia’s watering holes because of “bar girl” violations and serving alcohol to obviously intoxicated people.

Our coalition has been very lucky to have people who truly care about our neighborhood and strive to improve our quality of life.

Officers from La Colonia Police Storefront have made an incredible difference from the way our neighborhood used to be. In essence, they are a perfect definition of what community policing should be. It is a daily occurrence to see 10 to 15 kids inside our tiny police storefront (which also houses the coalition) after school doing homework or watching TV. These officers take kids kayaking or on movie trips, sometimes on their free time. Because of this relationship that the officers have with our community, the crime rate has decreased to one of the lowest in the city of Oxnard.

We also have a close working relationship with the Oxnard Housing Authority’s Public Housing Drug Elimination Program. We are always ready to help and support one another with our different programs. We each have a vested interest in our community and the future.

The coalition’s plans for the future are to continue to reduce our youths’ access to alcohol, open a community cooperative market and conduct a community-needs assessment with UCLA.

Through our efforts and those of other community-based agencies in La Colonia, we are erasing the stereotype of La Colonia being the wrong side of the tracks. I believe if we all work together, the future of the Colonia neighborhood is indeed very bright.

For further information on the coalition’s activities or for information about other prevention coalitions in Ventura County, please call 385-7977.