Community Highlights: Meet Elton Penn of Sim M Spencer Community Development Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elton Penn.

Hi Elton, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey started as a young child, being taken away from my parents at the age of five, along with my four brothers. We were placed in foster care for the next four years until my grandmother and late grandfather adopted all five boys. We seemed to move every three to four years for various reasons; we stayed between Watts, South LA, and Inglewood. At the age of sixteen, I decided to run away from home after my grandmother expressed her unhappiness, both physically and verbally, with me getting a 25-year-old woman pregnant. I dropped out of the twelfth grade in April and had to return to school later to get my diploma. As a result of that decision to run away, I experienced homelessness from the age 19 to 23. It was by the grace of God that a woman by the name of Karin Dean, from the church I attended with my grandfather in my teen years, noticed I was living below my potential.

It was her sacrifice and willingness to see me better in the future that allowed me to enroll in college Southwest College, University of Southern California and Bible Believers Christian College and Seminary where I earned my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. My faith in God and the belief that I could be more than another statistic allowed me to be where I am today. Now, I am married to my wonderful wife, Quiana Penn. We are a blended family and have too many kids to name in this article! Today, I’m a proud husband and father, a best-selling author of “Intimacy Behind the Bedroom”, Senior Pastor of East 105th Street Christian Church, and founder of two nonprofit organizations, World Centered Outreach, and Sim M. Spencer Community Development Center, both of which strives in enhance the lives of those living in underserved communities. My passion in life is that “each one, reach one.” When we learn the value of building one another by sharing tools and resources, then we will see we are the change that our commu

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest struggles had nothing to do with others but understanding self-worth. Seeing in me what others saw in me. Understanding my value and my potential was the hardest struggle to overcome.

As you know, we’re big fans of Sim M Spencer Community Development Center. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The vision of Sim M. Spencer Community Development Center is to connect individuals to sustainable employment, educational services, housing, reduce recidivism, and improve self-efficacy. We understand that for individuals to live better, they need access to tools and resources to assist them with improving their social determinants of health.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
One of the greatest qualities that separate our organizations from others is the fact that we are not focused on quantity; our focus is quality. We serve based on how we would want to be served. People need tools that will help them deal with real-life issues. Issues that have made individuals and communities feel they are less than others. Our success is measured by our impact on the lives of the community we serve.

Contact Info:

• Website: Simmspencercdc.org