City Heights (see map) is a multicultural community in San Diego comprised of 16 separate neighborhoods with families from east Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia and Latin America, many of whom are refugees. With a population of nearly 80,000, City Heights is bordered by three major freeways - the I-15, I-805 and I-94. Many families live in poverty, with the median income in City Heights at $25, 814 compared to San Diego County's median income of $59,591. In addition to poverty, these neighborhoods are challenged by a variety of issues, including substandard housing conditions with unresponsive slumlords, availability of predominantly low-wage jobs, low educational attainment, as well as a growing gang presence and the accompanying violence that comes with it. But beyond these challenges many assets can be found within this very diverse community. Residents are "stepping up" to serve as catalysts for positive change in the community. Working closely with the City Height's network of community-based organizations, residents are learning how to take an active role as advocates for their community and have made a number of positive changes that benefit the community's health. Because of the poverty in this community, many families are "food insecure," meaning they don't always have enough to feed their families. To help ameliorate this, residents worked to open the community's first farmer's market, one of the first to accept food stamps and vouchers from other food programs. In addition, a community farm is being organized which will bring in additional healthy food options into the community. One of the goals of the farm is to encourage microenterprise industries for refugees to increase access to affordable and culturally relevant foods in the community by establishing a booth at the Farmer's Market to sell their crops. Close Window