Marin groups join forces to boost Canal area

By Keri Brenner | kbrenner@marinij.com | Marin Independent Journal

UPDATED: April 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM PDT

A group of organizations in Marin County is teaming up to create a five- or 10-year plan for transforming the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael and supporting its residents.

The new coalition, called the Canal Promise Neighborhood Plan, includes agencies such as the San Rafael city government, San Rafael City Schools, College of Marin and the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.

It also includes Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro (“Our Canal, Our Future”), a group formed under the auspices of the nonprofit Canal Alliance; First 5 Marin; the Marin County Office of Education; Parent Services Project; and Community Action Marin. Marin County Supervisor Dennis Rodoni is also a participant.

The coalition, which met for the first time as a steering committee on March 24, will spend the next six months looking at programs and initiatives to see where there are overlap and intersections, said Richard Raya, chief executive of Marin Promise Partnerships.

Marin Promise Partnerships, a nonprofit that promotes equity in education among Marin’s underserved communities, is coordinating the planning meetings and data collection. The work will be used to assemble the plan for the Canal neighborhood.

“Where you grow up shouldn’t determine your future, but too often it does,” Raya said. “That’s why we are working in partnership with residents and system leaders to address the root causes of academic disparities.”

Raya said working on education alone is not enough. Major shifts — such as having all students graduate from college or career training and seeing all children achieve academic excellence — also require that living conditions are safe, healthy and conducive to learning.

“By aligning efforts across education, housing, health and economic development, we’re not just building better support systems for families, but also strengthening civic trust and laying the foundation for generational change,” Raya said.

The next gathering of the group is scheduled for May 2 at the Albert J. Boro Community Center in San Rafael. The meeting will include updates from leaders on shaping the plan.

On May 3, community members are invited to attend the Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro Community Fair. The fair — scheduled from 12 to 4 p.m at the Canal Alliance headquarters at 711 Grand Ave. — is a chance for residents to explore community priorities, connect with local resources and help envision the future of the neighborhood.

“To achieve systemic change, we must empower those most impacted to reshape the very arrangements that affect their lives,” said Omar Carrera, chief executive of Canal Alliance.

“Through Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro, we’re not just creating space for residents to share their vision, but to actively redesign the structures and narratives that define their neighborhood,” Carrera said.

The Canal area is a predominantly Latino immigrant community that has long faced systemic challenges, including housing shortages, environmental risks and gaps in educational and economic opportunity.

Marin Promise Partnership says the new effort will bring all parties together to align work and ensure families receive the support they need in ways that reflect the neighborhood’s priorities and strengths.

“The Canal Promise Neighborhood Plan reflects our city’s commitment to equity, shared responsibility and enhancing the quality of life for all,” said Mayor Kate Colin.

Carmen Diaz Ghysels, superintendent of San Rafael City Schools, said “student success doesn’t begin and end in the classroom.”

“A child’s ability to learn is deeply connected to their experiences at home and in the community,” Diaz Ghysels said.

Marin Promise Partnership’s work on the six-month planning process is supported by a $20,000 grant from the Aspen Institute and a $35,000 grant from the Marin Community Foundation, Raya said.

The collaboration is already reviewing templates from other plans created in underserved communities. Those include the Mission District Promise Neighborhood in San Francisco, Rise East in Oakland and the Movement 2030 plan in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Raya said the lessons learned with the Canal plan will be useful for ongoing efforts in underserved communities in Marin City, Novato and western Marin.

Statewide, pending legislation called the “It Takes a Village Act” would allot $17.5 million to help create more collaborative community projects statewide, Raya said.

“This is just an idea whose time has come,” Raya said. “We’ve all been working on our own initiatives in the Canal. We’ve come to recognize that no single agency can address it by itself.”

He added that the “unpredictable nature of the current political landscape” reinforces the idea that the community as a whole needs to act on its own.

“We have more agency locally,” Raya said. “This is a time for us to exercise that agency and coordinate together to address our biggest challenges.”

Originally Published: April 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM PDT