West Side Promise Neighborhood

Mission:

WSPN works together with West Side children, families, and individuals to ensure success from cradle to career and beyond.

Our vision is to make Buffalo’s West Side a vibrant, safe, healthy and inclusive neighborhood. We envision a community where families and individuals are strong, children are healthy, and every youth succeeds in school and achieves lifelong success.  

Who we are:

The West Side Promise Neighborhood Initiative is a diverse group of community members who are committed to improving the lives of children and their families living on Buffalo’s West Side. We work together and support one another while implementing a continuum of supports including early learning through high school graduation, family and community supports, and college- and career readiness creating a brighter future for the neighborhood.  

Strategic Priorities:

The strategic priorities for the West Side Promise Neighborhood are:

1. Youth, families, and individuals are healthy and safe. (Primary goal)  
2. Children enter Kindergarten ready to learn.   
3. Youth, families, and individuals have their basic needs met so they can feel engaged in learning.   
4. Children attend effective schools.   
5. Students graduate from high school prepared for college/career.   
6. Students graduate from college or complete career preparation program.   
7. West Side residents and stakeholders are civically-engaged community leaders.   

The following values are going to be woven into the work:  

• Equity, inclusiveness, accessibility   
• Cultural/religious responsiveness   
• A neighborhood/resident-centric focus   

Organization and Membership:

The West Side Promise Neighborhood is a consortium of community organizations and collaborating members united by a shared goal to improve educational outcomes on Buffalo’s West Side. In addition, WSPN strives to develop shared projects to advance its strategic priorities.  

WSPN invites all interested organizations and individuals from the WNY area to request membership in WPSN if they have a focus and/or an impact in the following zip codes: 14207, 14213, 14222, and 14201. Individuals or agencies that apply to be members must be voted in by the governing body's logistics committee.

West Side Promise Neighborhood Associate Director, Talia Rodriguez, talks with Thomas O-Neil-White on WBFO (November 8, 2022)