Building Partnerships

and Leadership


Bringing together community residents, local organizations, city and county departments, elected officials and businesses, to partner and commit to create equitable systemic conditions – transforming our communities to be healthier, happier and with a future full of hope for all children and their families

Best Start Region 1

Metro, East LA, Southeast LA, El Monte

Best Start Region 1 (BSR1) is a place-based, community-building movement made up of over 1,000 community residents and cross-sector organizational partners who work together to affect change in their region. With an initial investment from First 5 LA, this region includes the communities of East Los Angeles, Metro Los Angeles, South El Monte/El Monte, and Southeast Los Angeles. 

BSR1 is driven by the Community Transformation Collective (CTC) within Para Los Niños. The CTC supports community members to transform systemic conditions so that children, families, and neighborhoods can thrive. This systems change approach builds and cultivates transformational partnerships for the region to co-design, implement, communicate, mobilize, and evaluate strategies.

Project Innovations LA (PILA)


Founded by the LA County Department of Mental Health, PILA includes LAUSD, community residents, and six agencies: Pathways LA, St. Anne’s, Para Los Niños, Children Bureau, Asian Pacific Counseling Center, and Peace Over Violence. Using trauma informed practices like the Community Resilience Model (CRM), the collaborative program seeks to build both community and systemic capacity to prevent and address the impact of trauma. Supporting the creation of community groups where residents can build social connections, leadership skills, and identify community resources, PILA provides social and emotional support to help build individual and community resilience. They also provide professional development, coaching, and support to school administrators and teachers to create environments that are safe for learning and building positive relationships.
Org trusted to help thousands with food insecurity through pandemic
Para Los Niños (PLN) is coordinating to provide food for over 3,000 families in some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable communities through CARES Act funding distributed by the County. Using its strong distribution infrastructure developed in response to the pandemic in 2020, PLN and its partnership with dozens of local organizations are helping some of SoCal’s hardest hit communities.
PLN Best Start Joins Gov Newsom
Para Los Niños Best Start Metro LA, East LA, and El Monte representatives were thrilled and honored to attend a tour at the Hope Street Family Center with Governor Gavin Newsom, Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, Senator Holly Mitchell and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago on August 8, 2019.

Our community work is across downtown LA, East LA, Metro LA, South El Monte/El Monte and Southeast LA with two PLN sites focused on these efforts specifically.


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