Opinion: Rebuilding Oakland community includes teaching parents

Recently, 25 parents gathered at Futures and CUES Elementary School at the Havenscourt-Lockwood campus in East Oakland for a special graduation. Instead of kids, the graduates were parents who completed an eight-week program designed to help them support the academic success of their children as they get ready to enter kindergarten.

The graduation was the culmination of this year’s Havenscourt Parent University, just one example of how the Healthy Havenscourt Collaborative unites residents, community- and faith-based organizations, government and others in the work of building a stronger and healthier neighborhood. Launched in 2015 by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), Healthy Havenscourt addresses the many interconnected social, economic and environmental factors that contribute to poverty and poor health in the historically neglected neighborhood.