San Fernando Valley : Project Refocuses on Community Identity

Residents may be surprised to learn that there is logic to Arleta. After all, the community doesn’t have its own ZIP code, and just recently found a permanent location for its Chamber of Commerce.

But members of a community leadership training program recently unearthed the secrets of this somewhat obscure Valley locus. This week, participants in Coro, a Los Angeles nonprofit group devoted to leadership training and community development, reported on the political, economic and cultural underpinnings of Arleta and other East Valley communities--including North Hollywood, Panorama City and Sun Valley.

Joanne Jett, a Coro participant and civilian employee of the Los Angeles Police Department, said the project changed her peers’ outlook on the communities they investigated.

“At first, there was a lot of negative perception of these communities,” said Jett, a 40-year-old Van Nuys resident. “But after researching what actually goes on there, we discovered there are positives--more good qualities than bad.”