(R-L) Susana Porras, Program Coordinator, Pasadena Police Department; Lindsey Pinkston, Board Member, NUSA; Joyce Cox, Treasurer, NUSA; Carrie Snyder, Assistant Secretary, NUSA; Reba Taylor-Hill, Sergeant-at-Arms, NUSA; Orlando Robinson, Membership Chair, NUSA.
The PPD competed against half a dozen other finalists from cities around the country during this year’s NUSA Conference on Friday, May 24, in Lubbock, Texas.
By Brian Biery
For the second year in a row a Pasadena organization has been recognized as being the best in the nation by Neighborhoods USA. The Pasadena Police Department earned the First Place Award in the Social Revitalization/Neighborliness category of NUSA’s Best Neighborhood Program (BNP) for its Community Police Academy in Spanish.
According to NUSA President Precious McKesson, the PPD came out on top of the competition due to its innovative methodology for including Spanish-speaking residents in its community training program. She observed that neighbors for whom English is not their native language are often left out of municipal programs because they are unable to access information effectively.
By providing the entire training program in Spanish, participants are able to understand how the PPD serves the community as they are provided a ‘behind the scenes’ view of the department. For example, during the course, participants are introduced to the practice of Community Policing and learn the role it plays in contributing to safe and healthy neighborhoods.
Susana Porras, Program Coordinator for the Pasadena Police Department, made the winning presentation to the NUSA judges and then accepted the award on behalf of the agency at NUSA’s Awards Breakfast on May 25. She was thrilled by the outcome, “I am ecstatic and proud that the Pasadena Police Department is being recognized for the amazing community engagement work they do!”
Other cities that competed for this national award included: Flint, MI – Clark Commons Neighborhood Improvement; Fort Lauderdale, FL – Brushstrokes for History; Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Homeless Count; El Dorado Park Estates Neighborhood Association, Long Beach, CA – Mission Possible; among other exceptional programs and projects. Porras later remarked that “… many cities are providing amazing programs for the benefit of their residents, so this is an extraordinary honor to be recognized as best in the country this year!”
(R-L) Precious McKesson; President of NUSA and Susana Porras, Program Coordinator Pasadena Police Department (Photo – Brian Biery)
Pasadena won in 2023 AND again in 2024
At last year’s Neighborhoods USA Conference, held in El Paso, TX, the Garfield Heights Neighborhood Association from Pasadena won First Place in the Neighborhood of the Year Award (NOTY) and was recognized as the overall Grand Prize NOTY winner for its Historic Pasadena Bus Tour #2. The tour featured the stories of cultural sites that are associated with the Japanese, Black, Armenian, Indigenous, and Mexican communities of Pasadena.
Key components of both the Garfield Heights Neighborhood and Pasadena Police presentations were videos created by Pasadena Media’s team of filmmakers led by Chief Production Officer Bobbie Ferguson. These short documentary films allowed participants in both programs to share their experiences and feelings about the impact of each program. The judges were impressed with the quality of the videos as well as with the passion and gratitude displayed by the participants.
Pasadena hosted the Neighborhoods USA Conference in 1994 with the theme of “Pasadena: Where Pride Blooms from Diversity” which was coordinated by the City of Pasadena’s Neighborhood Connections office. NUSA and Neighborhood Connections’ shared mission has been to build and strengthen neighborhood organizations in order to develop healthier and safer communities for all residents. After serving the city’s neighborhoods for 30 years, Neighborhood Connections was closed by the City of Pasadena in 2017.
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