By: Jan Lepore-Jentleson

Jan Lepore-Jentleson — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 18:08:00 +0000

I am delighted to see that place-based poverty reduction initiatives are finally getting the public traction they deserve. I would like to add to the conversation by telling you about East End Community Services in Dayton Ohio. Our organization has worked for 18 years in inner east Dayton where child poverty rates are 63%. We work in the cradle tocareer continuum. Our programs including kindergarten readiness education for parents and connecting young children to (scarce) high quality early child development programs. We work with the public neighborhood school to close the academic achievement gap through extensive after school and summer programs that focus on STEAM educational experiences. We pay for three tutors to work with the third grade teachers to enable them to reduce ratios and improve reading levels, with very strong results given that half of our kids enter school as English language learners. We offer a youth development center that case-manages teens between the 7-12 grades to assure they finish high school and get into college with financial support. We provide wrap around social service support for families, heroin addiction intervention, job training and placement, community organizing, and we have developed 84 new single family, affordable, energy efficient homes in the immediate neighborhood. We’ve done a lot to turn the curve for our kids and families. Our results are strong and more kids are breaking out of the cycle of generational poverty in our community – but there is so much more to be done. We struggle to fund all of our programs each year because there funding streams are so silo-ed. We need more conversations with funders to help them understand the need for comprehensive place-based community development initiatives.
Jan Lepore-Jentleson, Executive Director East End Community Services

Comments on: The Evolving Fight Against Concentrated Poverty

By: Jan Lepore-Jentleson