The California Endowment is setting the stage for a 10-year, health-improvement project that will pump millions of dollars into Salinas’ poorest neighborhoods.

As first reported at www.montereycountyweekly.com, the endowment will fund a strategic plan in east Salinas to address systemic issues, including youth violence, health coverage, education and housing.

“It’s really about community health,” says Program Officer Justine Choy. “The strategy will be very tailored to what east Salinas needs.”

Salinas leaders must first decide what organization will facilitate the nine-month planning stage, which will include reaching out to residents and forming a comprehensive strategy. The endowment met with nonprofit groups on April 1 to decide what agency will apply for the planning grant.

Officials would not estimate how much money Salinas will receive under the initiative, dubbed “Building Healthy Communities,” which will start in 2010. Alisal is one of 14 California communities the endowment picked. Spokesman Jeff Okey says the original hope was to spend $1 billion over 10 years in the 14 locations, but it’s hard to nail down a number now given the recession.

Annabelle Rodriguez, director of the Alisal Family Resource Center, says the plan will take a broader look at the health of east Salinas residents, from low employment to overcrowded housing. “This is going to [allow] these organizations to really think about how we can make some changes to these systems to help our community be strong, safe and healthy,” she says.

Nonprofit groups hope the effort will address the root causes of gang violence in Alisal. “Building Healthy Communities is not focused on stopping gang violence in Salinas,” says Mary Adams, president of United Way Monterey County. “My hope is that it will simply be an outcome.”