The Centers for Families and Children | 2013 Annual Report
There is no one face of mental illness or of a family trying to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
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There is no one face of the mother who takes English classes at night so she can work two jobs during the day to feed her children. But there are amazing landscapes that represent the culture and diversity of a thriving community. Our community is full of life, passion and a drive to never give up.
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The best way to represent the soul of our organization is through the eyes of our employees. We asked our staff across the entire organization to take photos that represented who we are, without taking any photos of people. We asked our employees – those that come to work every day to help so many in need – to take photos of our city
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that resonated with them and gave meaning to what they do. What we received was nothing short of amazing. We decided that it was far too inspiring to only share in the hallways of our buildings.
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We don’t create campaigns. We build movements.
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We strive every day to be an organization that inspires others to act. We aim for the bold goal that requires other businesses, nonprofits and community leaders to get involved.
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We are dedicated to achieving maximum impact, lasting positive change. We must look beyond short-term achievements that yield only incremental change. We must hold ourselves accountable for the harder-toachieve, long-term outcomes that will ultimately solve social problems. 12
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Doing great work lies at a convergence: what we are passionate about, what we can be best at and what drives our resources. We believe that lasting positive change begins with access to opportunities. We bridge the opportunity gap by connecting as many people as possible with effective health, education and essential human services.
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Updated copy to come.
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We made it our mission to aid both the mind and body of our clients.
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We work for those dealing with severe mental illnesses. We know people in Ohio with mental illness die on average 32 years earlier because they don’t receive preventative primary care.
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So we partner with the Cleveland Clinic, Care Alliance and Neighborhood Family Practice to provide integrated health care to people in our community. Our partnerships in health are vital to the well being of our community.
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We are at the forefront of early learning, preparing roughly 1,000 children a year for kindergarten. Our efforts don’t stop once they leave our early learning centers. We partner with schools like Breakthrough Schools and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to ensure our children transition into primary schools that will increase their chances of graduation.
and beyond. It is a priority to keep children on the path to high school, ready for college, careers and life-long learning. For us, opportunities come in many sizes and packages. Connections services respond to a broad variety of needs within the community, from emergency food assistance to obtaining and keeping a better job.
We partner with parents to ensure they support the educational journey of their child from the first 2,000 days to graduation
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In Cleveland
34.2% 14.0% 08.1%
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of people live in poverty
have graduated from college
unemployment for those who are still looking
The economic competitiveness of our region suffers when our people suffer. We are not just talking about charity; we are talking about an economic imperative. We continue to evolve our services to meet the changing needs of the individuals we serve in the very neighborhoods where they live, work and play. Through each of these
services we see a path to helping our clients thrive, whatever their goals for the future. Their individual success helps our entire community.
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“There is a responsibility that I have that carries great weight. Once you step into this organization, meet the people and visit with the clients, you are changed. You don’t come to meetings to vote on by laws or approve budgets. You come to save lives and strengthen your community. It’s our job to be the strongest partner possible for the staff so that they can continue to do the work they do every day to support those who need help. My job is to stand beside them, support them and be a conduit for other relationships and resources that can help them reach more people. I couldn’t do what they do. But I am so thankful that they can.”
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Cindy Long #GordanSquareCenter photo contest winner
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