East Wayne Street Center   801 East Wayne Street Fort Wayne, IN 46803 tel. 260.422.6502

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About EWSC

"The East Wayne Street Center is a not-for-profit organization focused on strengthening families and individuals to empower them to become self-sufficient."

For over 40 years, the term self-sufficient has been a part of East Wayne Street Center's mission. We believe that we are not here to give short-term solutions to the people we serve. Rather, it is our responsibility to provide them with the tools and direction they need to build upon their own strengths so that they may achieve their own success. The East Wayne Street Center programs and services truly strengthen individuals and families that are discouraged by the barriers of long-term poverty. The programs and services offer the participants support, resources and skills that will enable them to improve their quality of life. The East Wayne Street Center accomplishes its mission through programs and services that are empowering, giving its participants real skills that will open up doors and opportunities to reach their full potential.

The East Wayne Street Center has been providing quality human services in the Fort Wayne community for the last forty (40) years. The goal of the East Wayne Street Center is truly to provide low-income families and children with the opportunity to improve their overall living conditions. The East Wayne Street Center is totally committed to strengthening and uplifting families in this community. It has taken a special interest in families and children who have very little resources and are considered at-risk/dysfunctional. The term self-sufficient has been a part of East Wayne Street Center's mission. East Wayne Street Center feels that many of those living in poverty need opportunities, not handouts. The East Wayne Street Center offers programs and services to individuals and families who are at a cross road in their lives. These individuals and families who solicited help from the Center for one reason or another find themselves in a cycle of poverty and are in a state of at-risk living. But, each of these individuals has one thing in common at the time they connect with East Wayne Street Center. They are all seeking a second chance. The East Wayne Street Center provides these individuals and families with opportunities to better their lives; a real opportunity to change the direction of their lives. While these individuals and families come from many walks of life, at this point in time, each of these individuals need the services and the programs of the East Wayne Street Center and are motivated to improve their lives and the lives of their children.

Most of the families that are served by the East Wayne Street Center are single female-headed families. Past research has indicated that children from single-parent families are more likely to experience less healthy lives, on the average, than children from intact families. For instance, children growing up with only one parent are more likely to drop out of school, bear children out of wedlock, and have trouble keeping jobs as young adults. Other consequences include risks to psychological development, social behavior, and sex-role identification. Mother-only families are more likely to be poor because of the lower earning capacity of women, inadequate public assistance and child care subsidies, and lack of enforced child support from non-residential fathers. The median annual income for female-headed households with children under six years old is roughly one-fourth that of two-parent families. Poor, single working parents often are forced to choose between quality and flexibility of child care arrangements. Many jobs offering adequate pay require long and/or irregular hours. For many single parents, this may mean using less well-trained or experienced child care providers who are working long hours or supervising too many children.

Since the inception of the East Wayne Street Center, it has been focused on the most in need in the community. It was and continues to be the belief of the Center of giving individuals and families the tools to become and sustain self-sufficency. While the Center has grown and become a full service community service organization, the relevance o f the Center and its programs and services are very much necessary in our community. Study after study has proven that there is a direct correlation in Allen County between the economic well being of children and their academic achievement. Economically disadvantaged students scored significantly lower in 2005 in reading and math proficiency in Allen County schools than non-economically disadvantaged students. At-risk, dependent, low-income these terms do not define an individual and their gifts. They are merely labels, methods by which to categorize an individual and their needs. At East Wayne Street Center, we aren't interested in labels. We recognize that every individual has strengths and capabilities. Sometime, they have strengths even they didn t know they had. One of the most wonderful gifts we can give someone that we serve is for them to be able to see themselves as strong and resilient. Everyone faces challenges, but being able to see beyond the current difficulty is empowering!

The East Wayne Street Center's slogan is: In every family there is a story worth telling. Each of our programs is a piece of the puzzle that is the life of individual or family striving for personal achievement and self-sufficiency. When a piece of the puzzle is missing, the family picture is incomplete. It has been the belief of the East Wayne Street Center that individuals and families who are trying to reach self-sufficiency need a strong support system and opportunities to increase their academic level. This belief has been the focus of the programs and services of the East Wayne Street Center. The programs and services of the East Wayne Street Center are designed to empower individuals and families within the poverty community rather than providing piece-meal solutions to specific problems. Only through empowerment can individuals and families move away from the despair of long-term poverty and begin taking advantage of opportunities that could lead to a better quality of life.

Board of Directors