The District of Columbia has opened 10 Family Success Centers in Wards 7 and 8 in order to offer residents in these areas services such as food assistance, health care, and child care.
The facilities, located east of the Anacostia River, will be operated by local nonprofit organizations and supported by the city. They are designed to connect families to prevention services from employment and education to food security, childcare, and healthcare, including mental health.
The nine nonprofits running the centers were selected by the DC government to receive approximately $4 million in investment for the project.
The announcement came from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday during her speech at one of the new centers run by Martha’s Table, a DC-based nonprofit that works for increasing access to quality education, health, and family resources.
“These centers represent the District’s commitment to making each neighborhood a place where families can thrive and where everyone in our great city gets a fair shot at success,” Kim Ford, president of Martha’s Table, said at the event.
“We know that when we build stronger families, we also build stronger communities,” said Mayor Bowser. “This investment in our Family Success Centers is about meeting the needs of our parents and children and creating support networks in the neighborhoods they live. We thank all of our partner organizations for their tireless work and giving more of our families in Wards 7 and 8 the opportunity to thrive.”
The locations of the centers and partner organizations are as follows:
Ward 7:
- Benning Terrace/Benning Park: East River Family Strengthening Collaborative
- Clay Terrace: Sasha Bruce Youthwork
- Mayfair/Paradise: North Capital Collaborative
- Stoddart Terrace/37th Street: Life Deeds
- Benning Rd & Minnesota Ave.: East River Family Strengthening Collaborative
Ward 8:
- Woodland Terrace: Smart from the Start
- Anacostia: Martha’s Table
- Congress Heights: Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative
- Washington Highlands: A Wider Circle
- Bellevue: Community of Hope