Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

The Dudley neighborhood was a community that had long been abandoned by industries, neglected by government services, and infested by social ills most often illustrated by a high crime rate and an overwhelming sense of despair. That is until 1984, when residents came together and founded the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in an effort to change the neighborhood and redirect its future and that of its residents. Today, Most of DSNI's work is concentrated in Dudley Village, a 11/2 square mile area of Roxbury and Dorchester with 24,000 people. The community is comprised of about 37% African-American, 29% Latino, 25% Cape Verdean, and 9% White and other. The per capita income is $8,631, as compared to $16,000 for the city of Boston as a whole. About 1/3 of the population are children and youth and about 40% are immigrants. DSNI’s youth programming thus involves youth from all of these different racial groups. Much of this programming is done through the Dudley Youth Council.