Our History

Over 40 Years of Community-Led Transformation

Xiente (formerly Norris Square Community Alliance) was founded in 1982 by a group of Puerto Rican women in North Philadelphia who saw a need and took action. With no external help available, they built their own organization to create safety, opportunity, and dignity for families in the Norris Square neighborhood.

From the beginning, we believed that the people most impacted by poverty should be the ones shaping the solutions. That principle still guides us today.

From NSCA to Xiente

For four decades, Norris Square Community Alliance responded to community needs through holistic support—affordable housing, education, employment, youth development, and neighborhood revitalization. In 2023, our evolution into Xiente marked a renewed commitment to economic mobility, systems change, and intergenerational prosperity.

We are still rooted in the same neighborhood. We are still powered by the same community. But today, our work reaches further—with bold strategies that uplift families across generations.

Driven by Our Community

Xiente remains deeply community-led. Families and residents serve on our staff, board of directors, and advisory groups. Seventy percent of our board are neighborhood residents, keeping our work grounded and accountable

Impact Highlights

• Built and rehabilitated over 147 units of affordable housing
• Educated hundreds of infants and toddlers through Head Start & Early Head Start
• Organized 70 neighborhood blocks
• Created a worker-owned housing cooperative
• Launched El Mercado, a food-based business incubator and farmers market
• Developed senior housing at La Casa de Carmen Aponte
• Provided after-school and summer programs for hundreds of youth

What Drives Us

The work of Xiente is driven and directed by the families and residents of our community who are active at every level of the organization, serving on our staff, board of directors, and advisory committees. Seventy percent of our board is comprised of neighborhood residents.

Our Milestones

1982–1999

1982 – NSCA is founded by local residents to make the neighborhood safer for children.
1990 – Rehabilitation of 137 W. Susquehanna and 188 Diamond into apartments.
1996 – Norris Square Family Center opens at McKinley Elementary.

2000–2009

2001 – NSCA opens the 10-classroom Children’s Center at 2011 N. Mascher Street.
2002 – 30-unit senior housing development: La Casa de Carmen Aponte.
2003 – La Torre project completed: 10 new homes for $52,000 each.
2006 – NSCA selected to redevelop the St. Boniface Complex.
2007 – St. Boniface Complex is purchased. Child Care Center expands into the school.
2008 – City of Philadelphia commits $500K for St. Boniface demolition & housing.
2009 – 48-unit Hunter School Homes development completed ($12M investment).

2010–2015

2010 – $14M in public investment secured (HUD NSP2 + PA RACP) for housing.
2011 – Demolition of St. Boniface Church and Convent begins.
2012 – Awarded $5M/year as Head Start Grantee for Germantown-Lehigh region.
2013 – Completion of Las Terrazas, St. Boni’s Homes, and 13 home rehabs.
2013 – Received 21 project-based vouchers from PHA for Los Balcones.
2014 – NSCA officially changes name to Norris Square Community Alliance.
2015 – Awarded Early Head Start–Child Care Partnership grant.

2016–2023

2020 – Michelle Carrera becomes Executive Director, ushering in a new era.
2023 – Xiente launches: our new identity focused on economic mobility and systems change.
2024 – Launched the Mi Casa Initiative, delivering 10 affordable rental units for working families who fall into the benefit gap—earning too much to qualify for subsidies but not enough to afford market-rate rent.
2024 – Launched the Guaranteed Income Initiative, an 18-month pilot program providing 10 families with $500 in unrestricted monthly cash support to promote financial stability and long-term economic mobility.

Today and Tomorrow

Xiente continues to build on our legacy—with new tools, new ideas, and deeper impact. Through initiatives like the Prosperity Project, Guaranteed Income, and Mi Casa, we are helping families move beyond survival and into true prosperity.

We’re not just breaking cycles of poverty. We’re building pathways to intergenerational wealth and opportunity—led by the very people who’ve always held the solutions.