ABCDC History
The Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation
(ABCDC) takes its shape from the diverse voices and efforts
of the many community members who share a vision of a
strong, vibrant and inclusive community. Since forming
in 1980, we have renovated and preserved 370 units of
affordable housing and helped more than 600 low- and moderate-income
families buy homes.

At the Allston
Brighton Parade |
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We have educated hundreds of tenants about their rights
and organized them to defend these rights. Throughout
our two-plus decades, we have fostered mutual respect
and greater understanding among the ethnically and economically
diverse population of Allston Brighton. We have organized
neighborhood residents to improve parks, renovate schoolyards,
and plant trees on barren streets. We were the first organization
to create an Individual Development Account program in
Boston. We are a lead organization in the citywide Community
Business Network. And we initiated a model community-computing
program to assist low-income families and individuals
in accessing computer skills and technology resources,
thereby improving their career choices.
Each year nearly 6,000 people benefit from our programs.
Diverse voices in a multitude of languages swirl around
our offices, classrooms and out in the playgrounds we
have renovated, making the atmosphere in which we work
rich and exciting. We have increased our capacity in direct
response to the growing and changing needs in our community.
The housing crisis deepens, challenging working families
to find and maintain a place to call home. The economy
falters making it more difficult than ever for people
without technical and professional skills to find or retain
work.
As a community-based, community-controlled, nonprofit
organization, ABCDC’s mission is to engage neighborhood
residents in the on-going process of shaping and carrying
out a common vision of a diverse and stable community.
This vision is carried out through community-led projects
that protect and produce affordable housing, create greenspace,
foster a healthy local economy, provide avenues for economic
self-sufficiency, and increase understanding among and
between the diverse residents of our neighborhood.
In these difficult times, we know we must dig our heels
in a little deeper and reach out a bit further while ensuring
that the Allston Brighton CDC remains a stable resource
for our community. |