Our Need

Poverty is surrounding our community in many ways:

Economic Poverty – 41% of the residents living within a one mile circumference of our campus live at or below the federal poverty level; 94% of students in our programs qualify for the free or reduced lunch programs

Academic Poverty – 50% of minority youth in our neighborhood will not graduate from high school.

Parental Poverty – More than a third of our neighborhood residents are age 19 and younger; 63% live in homes headed by single parents

Spiritual Poverty – A lack of hope produces a lack of conscience, which manifests into the violence outside our front doors.

Who we serve:

• According to the 2000 Census the ethnic demographics of people we serve: 58% African American; 19% Latino; 17% Other (Somali, Asian and Mixed); 6% Caucasian
• 90% of our program participants live within one mile of our campus. This close proximity allows us to provide transportation to and from our programs.
• 80% of the households in the Central and Phillips neighborhoods are single parent homes.