Who We Are

Need & Opportunity

In all of the communities that Roca serves, teen pregnancy, gang and street influences, substance abuse, court involvement, teen prostitution and violence are marking the coming of age of many young people.

Roca began its work with these young people locally, addressing the needs of very high-risk young people in Chelsea, Revere, Charlestown and East Boston.

• Roca is located in the City of Chelsea, which borders Boston to the north and has a population of just over 35,000. Chelsea is a gateway for thousands of immigrants and refugees. Forty-eight percent (48%) of Chelsea’s residents are Latino, 33% are Caucasian and 12% are Southeast Asians. Chelsea is the fastest growing city in Suffolk County, and 28% of residents are under the age of 18. Chelsea also has the lowest per capita income of any city in the Commonwealth ($13,633), and in 2002 the teen birth rate was more than three times the state average.
• The City of Revere lies north of Chelsea, and is home to a large immigrant population. The 3,000 plus Cambodian refugees live near a growing number of African-American and Latin American immigrants, as well as recent newcomers from Bosnia, Somalia and Nigeria. The youth and families of Revere live in a community where the per capita income is nearly 20% lower than the Commonwealth’s median per capita income, 12% of the population lives in poverty and/or receives some form of public assistance, the AIDS case rate is in the highest 90th percentile in the Commonwealth, reported STD rates are among the highest in the Commonwealth and the nation, teen pregnancy rates are 200% higher than the Commonwealth average and 61% of 10th graders failed at least one portion of the MCAS exam in 2002.
• The East Boston neighborhood of the City of Boston, which borders Chelsea to the southeast, and Revere to the northeast, has always been home to immigrants, and, in recent years, has experienced the most dramatic change in terms of a newcomer population. East Boston’s socioeconomic indicators reveal that 40% of its residents have not achieved a high school diploma or GED equivalent and approximately 30% of East Boston’s children live below the poverty level. 39% of East Boston’s population is Latino. East Boston High School is one of Boston’s inner city high schools selected for reform due to performance challenges cited by the Massachusetts Department of Education.