The Ontario Community University Partnership  is a collaborative of organizations along with Claremont Graduate University (CGU) who have come together over the past 3 years to look into servicing the needs of the community.   A Christian Place Magazine heard about a group meeting regarding Housing issues through a friend Terry Barreras who was the director of the Homeless Outreach Program (HOPE).  A Christian Place Magazine has had a passion for working with the needy families in the community, particularly the homeless population.  Marie Sandy , Director of the Program facilitated the meetings with elegance and fun.  She provided a space for the group to come together and grow.  She brought in her expertise and knowledge which was guidance to the focus of the group.  The group started with about 5 organizations and has grown to over 40.  As the group met we looked at the different issues the low income families faced in our community.  Collectively we decided on three areas to focus:  Housing, Medical and Education.  Through word of mouth the collaborative grew as more partners were brought to the discussion table.  Early in our Collaboration, Claudia Straus, a professor at CGU had her students conduct a focus group with residents, employees and real estate agents in the area to find out the barriers to home buying in Ontario.  She researched the area and put together a complete report on the student’s findings.  The report was used by the partners to set their next focus. The city has received the report and learned from it as well.  The city has also used the report as training for the employees dealing with the housing department.  In the Housing sub committee we collaborated with the Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services who also heard about us through word of mouth.  In our Housing sub committee we decided that Financial Literacy would be an important aspect in obtaining a home.  Sandy Richard was hired as the Coordinator of the program and Jamie Francess worked with the partnership.  Their assistance and organization in the program was the background that the group needed.  Denise Palmer from A Christian Place Magazine became the Financial Literacy Coordinator, and coordinated the financial literacy classes with the partners in the collaboration. Denise taught Thrifty living workshops that teach tips living on a tight budget and tips for shopping before, during and after you go to the store. The Neighborhood Partnership provided an array of classes from the basic ABC Credit to a series of home buying preparation.  Classes were coordinated with several partners such as Brethren in Christ, Christian Business Development, Ontario Center School, IVCC, Foothill Family Shelter, Chaffey Adult Education, and Family Solutions with the Ontario/Montclair School District and Various Head Start program Sites.  OCUP also coordinated with all of the partners to organize a Bilingual Resource Directory and printed 15,000 copies and are distributing it to all our partners and various organizations through out the community.  The local school district has adopted it as one of the tools they use to serve families in need.  The University has collaborated with the Partners in providing student to assist in various programs.  The students offer services to the Partners.  For example Lourdes Argüelles a Professor at CGU and founder of the Pitzer House teaches the Community Informatics Course.  Several Partners were invited to present to the class what they do and the class discussed ways they could provide services.  After class one of the students was able to bring a truck load of computers for The Christian Business Development.  They also worked on assisting A Christian Place Magazine on our website and making it more visible on the internet.   The Partners have grown through out this process and have built a strong relationship with OCUP.  One of our partners Christian Business Development has offered space for the Promotores program ran by Susan  Gomez.  Susan worked with the Lupe from the City of Montclair to present the classes and organize the program.  OCUP was the seed that has sprouted the potential for the promotores program and Christian Business Development will be able to assist in continuing the program.  The first promotores to graduate from the classes were in May 2004.  It was a great accomplishment for the partnership and the students.  The University came to our level of focus and brought the services with them through the students.  The services were free so the partners gained and the students learned.  This year I will be leading the housing subcommittee and we will be looking into affordable housing in Ontario.  We will be focusing on a plan for housing services and collaborate with existing shelters and housing organizations to expand on a solution to homelessness and prevention through collaboration with the partners and the schools.  This collaboration has been a learning process for the partners.  Each time we come together someone has a piece of information to share that the others may or may not have known.  Many of the partners can identify with the issues we are seeking to focus on.  Many have had problems with finances or may even be in a financial situation themselves.  We are able to pull from our own experiences to come up with a plan and find solutions.  Many of the partners are Ontario Residents and so the programs we develop could very well benefit us as well.   We are learning about each other and how collectively we are able to organize resources for ourselves as well as the community.  We are constantly referring to each other and building a relationship that benefits each other and the community.   Our meetings are fun, friendly and informative.  They are interactive and open to thoughts.  We have brainstorming sessions that is truly a collaborative effort.  We have had focus groups which have provided more information on subject we thought we knew.   We have learned asset mapping and capacity building for the partners.  We have learned of each others services and benefit from them.  Collectively we have found strength.  We had visions, answers, and ability together as a group.  A Christian Place Magazine has been a proud partner of this collaboration and has been blessed with the collaborations we have made.