Who We Are
“We shall not move from Parcel 19”
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción is a non-profit organization and a dynamic community development corporation that started in the South End neighborhood of Boston, to address displacement of low-income families due to urban development. IBA offers affordable housing and supportive programming to increase social and economic mobility for the families we serve.
One of the most important goals of IBA is providing safe and sustainable affordable housing. For over 50 years, IBA has developed housing that is associated and financed by different supportive programs, while developing leaders who support and encourage themselves, their families and their neighbors.
Our Mission
IBA
empowers individuals and families to improve their lives and achieve
socio-economic mobility through high-quality affordable housing, education,
financial and resident empowerment and arts programs.
How we started
In 1968, the Puerto Rican community of the Parcel 19 in the South End organized, and with the support of hundreds of protesters, they fought to stop the displacement they were facing. They finally won this battle and created IBA, which not only allowed them to stay in the neighborhood but also gave them the right to revitalize the neighborhood, and control and develop their community.
IBA then developed Villa Victoria (Victory Village), an affordable housing community in the city’s South End neighborhood, which has become a national model in the areas of civil rights, community organizing, affordable housing, education and arts programs. Today, IBA has expanded its affordable housing portfolio to include 667 units that are strengthened by comprehensive programming. IBA’s work is a daily reminder of what can be achieved with effort, determination and community organizing; the legacy of those brave Puerto Rican activists has been recognized for over five decades and continues to be studied by academics and other national and international communities.
Vision
IBA’s affordable housing community is an inclusive and welcoming space that develops and provides safe and healthy homes for low- and moderate-income individuals and families in Boston. Originally founded in 1968 by Puerto Rican activists, today IBA welcomes and celebrates its culturally diverse community while also preserving and promoting its Latino culture and heritage. This work is made possible by IBA’s staff and residents alike, who demonstrate their leadership through a shared sense of ownership of the organization, the community, and its growth into the future.
With housing at its core, IBA also supports individuals and families in breaking out of the cycle of poverty and achieving socio-economic mobility through its high-quality, evidence-based education, arts, and financial empowerment programming and services. By developing real estate projects and bringing together housing, education, and the arts, IBA is a national model of excellence for the integration of affordable housing with comprehensive community programming.
Values and Guiding Principles
Our core values reflect what is important to us as an organization. These values are the foundation of IBA’s beliefs and organizational culture.
We believe in justice, equity, and inclusion, and practice these values in relationships with staff, residents, and partners.
We believe that safe and sustainable affordable housing is the foundation of a healthy community.
We believe that equitable access to education and other tools of socio-economic mobility is fundamental to individual and community empowerment.
We promote the arts to celebrate and honor our Latino identity, history, and impact, as well as the cultural identities, histories, and impacts of our globally diverse community.
We believe in developing leaders in our organization and our community.
We expand our efforts and impact through partnerships aligned with our Mission.
How we impact lives
We believe that education and living in a healthy, safe and culturally vibrant environment are fundamental to individual and community empowerment. This is why our team, together with neighbors, donors, funders, lenders, friends, and volunteers, have joined efforts to make our multicultural housing, education and arts programs available for all who need them and are eligible for our services.
Our main focus is the people of our community, so we work to deliver evidenced-based programs for our children, youth, adults and seniors, to increase their quality of life and to provide them opportunities for social and economic mobility.
Learn more about our work in our annual report.