The Hope Center for Families now open to serve northwest Dayton

The new Hope Center for Families celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, ushering in a new era of hope for families in Northwest Dayton.

The Hope Center for Families is an initiative of the Omega Community Development Corporation (CDC) to empower low-income individuals and families of greater Dayton to achieve and sustain self-sufficiency with the life skills, work skills, and character to succeed through a two-generational poverty reduction model.

“Hope is here for the people of Northwest Dayton with the opening of The Hope Center for Families," said Al Wofford, Omega CDC Board Chair. "Together with our community partners, we couldn't be more excited to see our shared vision become a reality and begin transforming lives across our community."

Bringing together services from Sinclair College, Dayton Children’s Hospital, Mini University and Omega CDC, The Hope Center focuses its efforts on addressing the three major factors in poverty reduction: workforce development, improving health and building capacity through education.

• Sinclair College offers career programs that can lead to immediate employment and future growth in fast-growing, well-paying fields like health care. Students can earn a Sinclair College Short-term certificate in Nurse Aide or Patient Care in as little as sixteen weeks and secure full-time employment with the opportunity to continue to grow.

“Sinclair is honored to be one of the community partners operating at the Hope Center for Families,” said David Collins, Senior Vice President of Workforce and Organizational Development. “Residents will be able to complete job-ready workforce certificates with the opportunity to continue their education online or at the Dayton Campus.”

• Dayton Children’s Hospital will operate a full-service, on-site pediatric clinic at The Hope Center so that local families don’t need to travel across town to care for children. The clinic will provide wellness checks, vaccinations and pediatric services, initially by appointment. The expected opening date is November 22, 2021.

“Our vision is to reinvent the path to health for children in our region and beyond,” said Deborah A. Feldman, president and CEO of Dayton Children’s. “By partnering in the Hope Center for Families and the organizations inside, we can remove some barriers and truly impact a child’s health today and for generations to come.”

• Mini University brings a high-quality early learning program for infants, 6weeks to 5 years of age. For those adults enrolled in classes at The Hope Center through Sinclair College, this single-site solution to childcare removes barriers that previously stood in the way of children and parents getting ahead.

“Watching the children walk into The Hope Center for Families this week has been incredible,” said Julie Thorner, founder and President of Mini University, Inc. “The sense of community and family is so strong and everyone can already feel how special this place is. That’s exactly what young children need to succeed – community and family who care.”

• Omega CDC is the unifying element within The Hope Center, providing guidance and advocacy for families who need assistance with finding employment and services to sustain success.

“The opening of The Hope Center is a milestone years in the making, and it’s just the beginning of our mission to improve lives and make Dayton a better place for generations to come,” said Vanessa Ward, President of Omega CDC. “Looking ahead, we will continue to evolve our services to meet the diverse and changing needs of our community, ultimately strengthening local families, driving population health and building the workforce to bring hope to Northwest Dayton.”

Located in the heart of the Dayton View neighborhood at 1816 Harvard Boulevard, The Hope Center is now open Monday through Friday, from 6:30 am to 6:00 pm. Learn more at HopeCenterDayton.org.