PRO Neighborhoods, which offers neighborhoods all sorts of help, including workshops and grants, has moved into new digs: The Historic Y near downtown.
The organization wanted to have its own space, more room and be more visible, said senior community organizer Linda Duran.
Until mid-July, the group's office was inside the United Way of Tucson's building at 330 N. Commerce Park Loop, Duran said.
"Now this makes it easier for the community to get to us. It's our own place," she said.
PRO Neighborhoods' new space, at 738 N. Fifth Ave., has four offices, its own sign, an entrance and a lobby.
To celebrate the new location, the organization will have an open house Thursday that also will serve as an opportunity for people to come and meet new executive director Lana Bruno.
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The group is now a neighbor to a lot of other agencies that work with the community, said Duran.
"We are starting to build new partnerships with the other agencies, and that's what we want - to be out there with the community, to be more accessible," she said.
The Historic Y building hosts agencies including the Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance, the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection and the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, among others.
PRO Neighborhoods, created in 1994, has four founders: the city of Tucson, Pima County, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona.
"The way that PRO Neighborhoods started was when entities realized that there wasn't an organization that would help regular neighborhood people to get funding for their ideas," Duran said.
The group offers annual grants from $500 to $5,000. But it's not only about funding - the group also teaches people how to organize a community, how to increase involvement and how to start a project.
"We support neighborhoods - we don't go to a neighborhood and tell them what to do," Duran said.
One of the facilitation techniques PRO Neighborhoods teaches is through cafecitos (little coffee-gatherings), said Lisa Torres, another community organizer.
"(Cafecitos) is a way of having an informal house meeting, and it's a technique for getting neighbors to know each other, finding out who lives in your neighborhood," Torres said.
The next cafecitos session will be Tuesday.
if you go
• What: PRO Neighborhoods open house.
• When: 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday.
• Where: The Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave., Suite 101.
Cafecitos (workshop)
• Topic: Group-facilitation techniques.
• When: 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
• Where: The Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave., Suite 101.
• For more information: Call 882-5885.
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