We have two different programs-the family program and the housing program-where staff members & volunteers work alongside East St. Louis residents to build a better community. At East Side Heart & Home Family Center, the focus has always been, and continues to be, on people. We believe that each and every person has gifts to contribute and we hope to foster an environment where people can come together and use their individual gifts for the betterment of our city and our world. It is our hope that each of us can be empowered to become agents of social change in our lives and in our communities.
The Family Program is the heart of East Side Heart & Home Family Center and consists of our Alternative Education Program, our Senior Program, and our Women's Circle. Members of the Family Program are invited and encouraged to participate in a variety of activities throughout the year including holiday parties, family outings, Family Center fundraisers, and community-building exercises. We ask that participants make a commitment of at least one year to the Family Program in order to foster true community.
The Housing Program at East Side Heart & Home Family Center seeks to improve the quality of life for low-income families in East St. Louis by constructing quality, affordable homes, by providing free homeownership education, (i.e. credit counseling, budgeting, home maintenance, minor home repairs, etc.) and by partnering with our clients to build their credit, secure a home loan, and ultimately become homeowners. In August 2017, we completed our 21st house, and by the end of the month, a new family had moved in and is currently making it their home!
For over twenty years, the Housing Program has worked directly with the residents of East St. Louis to revitalize, stabilize, and sustain a neighborhood community that had previously been devastated by deindustrialization, population decline, poverty, and crime. The Housing Program seeks to bring people of diverse racial, social, and economic backgrounds together in ways that build lasting relationships, challenge preconceived ideas and prejudicial attitudes, and cultivate both individual transformations and systemic changes in East St. Louis.