Programs & Services
Strengthening parents and families, child and youth development, and
community-building are related processes, mutually dependent upon one
another to improve people’s lives. When a new immigrant masters English, her
employment prospects improve. When a parent finds a better job, his children
are more likely to thrive. When a child attends afterschool, she does better in
school, and in life. When a community feels supported, and supports its
members, it flourishes. To these ends, our programs:
• Support family stability and ensure that children are in safe and permanent homes in their own neighborhood.
• Improve the economic stability of families through job readiness and placement services and guidance on public benefits.
• Create safe work at fair wages through the incubation of inclusive and democratically-run worker-owned cooperative businesses.
• Engage large numbers of children, youth, and adults in daily programs designed to meet their diverse needs.
• Help youth develop into confident, capable adults through school-based and afterschool programs that build skills and promote academic as well
as social, artistic, and physical development.
• Support families facing emergencies, including hunger, homelessness, and legal crises.
• Advocate for projects and policies that benefit children and families through collaboration with neighborhood schools, service providers,
and the local Community Board.
• Employ a diverse group of over 200 staff, the majority of whom have been program participants and live in our community.
Our “ladder of leadership” promotes higher education; a number of past participants now serve as program directors.
• Recognize the self-determination of all people and use collaborations and partnership to promote healthy personal, family, and community development.
