Strengthening West Dallas,

One Neighbor at a Time

Smiling diverse family of three including woman with curly hair, girl with a bow in her hair, and man with a wide-brimmed hat, standing against an orange background.
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Our Story

Vecinos Unidos, Inc. (United Neighbors) was founded in March 1992 by Rosa Lopez, a visionary, affordable housing advocate and grassroots community leader. Rosa’s vision was to build affordable housing in West Dallas that would both empower residents with education about homeownership and create generational family wealth. In 1995, under Rosa’s leadership, Vecinos Unidos created Casa Rio, a planned development of 57 brick homes in the Los Altos neighborhood. Each new homeowner was given classes on how to maintain their new homes.

Rosa mentored community leaders and created a coalition of 14 West Dallas pocket neighborhoods, creating the “super neighborhood group”, West Dallas 1. Rosa also led community leaders in creating a neighborhood stabilization overlay to protect West Dallas from gentrification in the La Bajada neighborhood.

Black-and-white illustrated portrait of Rosa Lopez with glasses set against a blue background.
A diverse group of people smiling and posing in front of a large mural of Roza Lopez n with glasses, holding a microphone. The mural is painted on a white brick wall with colorful background elements. Raul Reyes, is in this photo.
Logo of the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Celebration in West Dallas, featuring a star with celebrating icons and text about the event.

Our Issue Areas

Close-up of a sign with a blue border that reads: "Supporting older adults through resources, connection, and community engagement," with an orange circle containing a line drawing of a smiling older man and woman.
Close-up of a sign with a blue border and orange speech bubble. Inside the speech bubble, there is an outline of a house in blue. Part of a larger message about community preservation and protecting history is visible below.
Text on a badge honoring veterans with a blue border and orange circle logo, which has a blue outline of a ribbon and star.
Close-up of an older African American woman wearing a denim cap with patriotic pins, a pink bandana with hearts, and earrings, with an orange and white background.

I first learned about Vecinos when I met Rosa Lopez. Rosa inspired me with her love and commitment to the community.

-Paula Hutchison, West Dallas Leader

Map of downtown Dallas, Texas, with warnings about flooding, showing streets, parks, and landmarks.

Deep in the Heart of West Dallas

We are located in the heart of West Dallas at 3603 N Winnetka Ave, Dallas, TX 75212. Most of our programming is at our location.