Health & Wellness needs are being met in our community through vast collaborative partnerships. Currently our community area of over 50,000 residents has 1 physician facility. The continuum of care as stated by Dr. Jolie Limon, previous Medical Director of Valley Children’s, “There should be 30-40 doctors for every 50,000 people. Everyone should have access to healthcare”. So, until the day arrives where our community has physicians, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists and more – we will be care coordinators for our community by partnering with UCSF Mobile Health, Fresno Country Office of Ed Mobile Health, Valley Children’s Hospital, Anthem, Healthy Smiles Dental, WIC, Project Food Box and more.
We recognize that access to quality healthcare is essential to living well, and we work to ensure that everyone in the community has access to prevention, intervention, and treatment options.
Providing monthly access to health and wellness services plus seasonal health tools like school ready immunization clinics and sports physicals adds another level to childhood success.
-CalHOPE: 1-833-317-HOPE Live Chat/Warm Line www.calhope.org
-Suicide Hotline: 988
-Student Depression - All 4 Youth 559-443-4800
-Marjaree Mason Center: 559-233-4357 Click Here
-Fresno Rescue Mission: 559-268-0839 Click Here
-Find More Resources:Click Here
-Department of Social Services (Cal-Fresh, Medi-Cal, CalWorks) Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30 1-855-832-8082
Applying www.mybenefitscalwin.org
New Medi-Cal BIC 1-877-600-1377
Report Child Abuse & Neglect 24hr: 559-600-8320
Report Elder Abuse & neglect 24 hr: 559-600-3383
Children and Youth are our future, realizing they need to be empowered and encouraged, as they are our tomorrow. Mentoring, youth leadership, and development are key to giving them a safe place: group meets and chats, volunteer opportunities, and soft skills building.
Inside Out Mentors
Run by a community member, board consultant, and the district athletic director Ray Hightower, offers youth a place to be seen and heard in a safe space. It offers group hangouts, one-on-one sessions, vision casting for their future, and more. The program is open to students from 7 years to 12th grade.
Youth Development, Leadership & Volunteerism
At Highway City Community Development, we are committed to equipping the next generation with the tools to succeed in life, school, work, and community. Our youth development programs create pathways for young people to build confidence, practice leadership, and explore future careers while giving back to their community. Each year, over 300youth engage in volunteerism and service-learning, contributing more than 1,500 hours to outreach events, classes, and community projects.These experiences are designed not only to support the community, but also to prepare youth with essential life and workforce skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, financial literacy, and communication.
We use a layered mentorship approach where learning flows across age groups. College interns and young adult staff mentor high school leaders; in turn,high school students lead service projects, plan curriculum, and teach younger children. Our youth have developed and taught classes on topics ranging from agriculture and healthy cooking to computer coding and small business entrepreneurship. They also take active leadership roles in organizing community events, ensuring volunteer shifts are covered, and engaging families in meaningful ways. Through these opportunities, youth gain real-world experience, practice responsibility, and discover how their unique skills can make a difference.
The impact of this model is clear in the lives of our alumni. One of our interns,who helped launch a student-run coffee business while in high school,returned after graduating cum laude from college. He has since built HCCD’s website and internal hub system—demonstrating how early entrepreneurial experiences can translate into advanced career skills. Another student leader co-wrote a grant that secured a partnership with Fresno State’s Environmental Sciences Department,resulting in a half-acre community greenspace. Today, he is a master’s graduate consulting on urban and agricultural land use and remains engaged in civic infrastructure projects with HCCD. We also maintain an ongoing partnership with Fresno State’s business department, where junior and senior students work alongside us on community-based projects in nonprofit management and administration.One of these students has since graduated, returned to live in our community, and now serves as a key volunteer—bringing his professional training full circle in service to his neighbors.
We also provide one-on-one guidance to high school students on the importance of volunteerism and serving their community, particularly in fields connected to their career interests. Whenever possible, we align student service opportunities with their future goals—whether in business, agriculture, technology, or health. Those who dedicate significant hours with us as high-value volunteers often look to HCCD for letters of recommendation to colleges, scholarships, and jobs. By mentoring youth in this way, we not only prepare them for the workforce but also help them take their next steps with confidence and a strong support system behind them.
Our strong partnerships with Central Unified School District, Fresno State,local colleges, and community collaborators ensure that youth are connected to both academic and career pathways. Many of our participants continue on to higher education, professional internships, and leadership roles—returning to HCCD as interns,consultants, or civic leaders. By investing in youth development,leadership, and volunteerism, HCCD builds not just individual futures, but a stronger, healthier, and more connected community for all.
Youth Engagement and Ecology
It starts with the planting of a seed. In a great partnership with the Fresno State Environmental Sciences Department and a resident youth leader, we were able to add a green space with pollinators, native plants, and trees to our center space. Future plans include seasonal community garden elements and workshops about urban greening, recycling art, and more. (Additional partnerships in this continued project are with Kaiser Permanente and Lotus Gardens). A 2025 initiative includes student built benches so families can enjoy our greenspace with books and activities, or while waiting for their children to finish their school day.
Advocacy in our organization is committed to revitalizing neighborhoods, developing community, and building relationships in West Central Fresno through a comprehensive approach that addresses critical community needs. We collaborate with partners, engage resident leaders, and focus on resident-led initiatives, so together, we thrive.
As a community, we are incredibly diverse: 61% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 13% White, 8% Black, 3% Mixed
Key languages in our community include English, Spanish, Punjabi, Hmong and Arabic + 24 more dialects.
There are over 16,500 students in our school district, Central Unified.
Like many communities, each area is different. There are neighborhoods where over 50% of the children are in poverty, but other areas that flourish, yet again, all our areas are lacking infrastructure, businesses and resources.
Community voice says we are going to stand together, until we are no longer called “Forgotten Fresno”. We realize our neighbors work hard every day. Some have multiple jobs, and then spend their spare time with family, so we actively engage in many partnerships in the community to bring voice to our community, and then teach our residents about to use their limited time to be engaged citizens. Citizens who are involved in the school district and/or the community.
Highway City Community Development is an active participant in the Fresno Community Economic Development Partnership (CEDP). It was formed in 2017 by 7 individual yet like-minded place-based 501c3 organizations. HCCD has been part of the group since its inception. It was founded to help build each other’s capacity, break down silos, and now has 16 members. Learn more at fresnocedp.org
That partnership has a sub-group of the Fresno Housing Advocacy group, that we are key members of as well, as we work to advance affordable housing for all through policy change and text amendments to code.
Whole family well-being matters! We are also part of The Children’s Movement (TCM), integral in their initial campaign of Talk, Read, Sing and other educational initiatives. Fresno Community Health Improvement Partnership (FCHIP) is also an important group we work with, making sure we know the key initiatives that our area is focused on with families, children and health. We work with Safe Kids who are an integral part of our outreach events. This next year we are the community liaison with Central Unified and Cradle to Career Fresno County, combatting student absenteeism and its root causes. We are community partners with Central Unified on its new Community Schools concept, of it takes a village to raise a family (and healthy, thriving communities).
We work on air and climate initiatives, adding a community greenspace to our center for and with our neighbors, and are pursuing micro-transit options for an area with few alternate transportation modes. Infrastructure is important and necessary for our community, so we will focus on our sidewalk and bike needs in 2024-25 gathering community input to a crucial plan of development.
In 2025 we start on a journey together with our community. To get the community's opinion on the most needed locations for sidewalks, bike racks, bike lanes and HAWK safety systems. But your opinion will lead to action with implementation of your choices. Looking forward to working with community partners, CARB, FAX, the city & county. Be ready to join us!
Being community advocates, we always suggest to the families in our community to be pro-active in all aspects, including, if needed, immigration services. Centro La Familia in our center, is DOJ approved for many immigration services and is a trusted resource. For additional information on how to pursue ViSA, citizenship and other services, and knowing your rights, see this link:https://cviic.org/guides-for-immigrants/
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We advocate for policy/systems reform and changes that support affordable housing development and offer educational resources for renters and homebuyers.
We prioritize infrastructure development and work with community members to ensure efforts align with needs. Those community members are the leaders in their neighborhoods, and together, we rise up to put a voice to the change our area needs.
We are currently working on changing ordinances to build different housing options. Affordable housing means everyone at every level has a housing option available to them.
Community Meetings
We use the center as our gathering location for residents to voice their concerns and needs and then work together so they can feel heard. For many years, the common sentiment has been, “My opinion doesn’t matter anyway, so why bother?” This sentiment is being changed one person, one group, one neighborhood at a time into people who feel empowered to speak up. Your voice does matter.
Catalyzing economic growth is a focus for us. We provide startup support to entrepreneurs, creating opportunities and stimulating the local economy. Each year, we help 2-3 businesses get fully launched as new start-ups, from eggs and microgreens to music production and a nonprofit focused on feral cats.
Family Support Services at the Teague Center are dedicated to walking alongside our community’s families during times of need and crisis. In these moments, the center serves as a care navigator, linking you to essential resources to help your family thrive once more.
Working with trusted partners and local agencies, we will help get you connected to the resources you need, without the often times frustrating process of trying to find the right help at the right time.
This service uses trained staff who can link you to Emergency food assistance, adult education, ESL, job upskilling, medical/health benefits, clothing/household goods, immigration, domestic violence, emergency utility help, and programs to lower rates.
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Children & Youth
Our community is a vibrant tapestry of cultures, and we believe every child should have the chance to explore, express, and celebrate their identity through the arts. At the heart of our youth programming is the belief that creative expression builds confidence, cultivates talent, and inspires pride.
Our center serves as a living gallery of youth creativity. Student artwork from our many art contests—including the annual "What Community Means to Me”competition—decorates our walls, turning everyday spaces into showcases of imagination and resilience. We also offer scholarship-based art programs for middle and high school students to deepen their skills and share their stories through visual expression.
Beyond the canvas, we celebrate the power of music and movement. From student music recitals to live cultural performances, young people are given platforms to perform and be celebrated. We've hosted African drumming circles, Stomp teams, and traditional dance groups like Folklorico and Polynesian dancers—offering children opportunities to experience the rhythms,traditions, and beauty of global cultures.
We’re also expanding hands-on arts education through STEAM workshops and youth-led design initiatives.One exciting new project is a youth-designed bike rack contest, where winning ideas will be turned into public art. By centering creativity in our programming, we aim to nurture the next generation of artists,leaders, and change makers.
Community Development through Arts & Culture
Arts and culture are not just expressions—they’re instruments of transformation. In our work,creative mediums are a cornerstone of community development, bringing people together across differences, sparking dialogue, and fostering a deep sense of shared belonging.
Through public art installations,community gallery showings, and interactive cultural events, we create spaces where residents see themselves reflected and valued.Whether it's a mosaic wall built with community input or a neighborhood event featuring live dance and music, these moments are more than celebration—they’re connection points for civic engagement and collective pride.
Our community art contests, which include youth, families, and residents of all ages, culminate in public exhibitions that turn our center into a hub of expression and story-sharing. These gallery showings not only uplift local talent but also strengthen the social fabric of our neighborhood by inviting residents to participate in defining what community means to them.
Events like our Fall Festival feature culturally rich performances—from West African drumming to traditional Mexican and Polynesian dance—bringing families together to experience and honor our community's diverse heritage. These shared experiences cultivate empathy, unity, and a stronger investment in the neighborhood we all call home.
By embedding arts and culture into our development efforts, we create more than programs—we build bridges,inspire civic action, and lay the groundwork for long-term neighborhood resilience.
Highway City Community Development, Inc.
4718 N. Polk Ave.
Fresno Ca. 93722
Community Resource Center
4718 N. Polk Ave.
Fresno CA 93722
559-578-8991
