Heights Parent Center (HPC)
(www.heightsparentcenter.org)Heights Parent Center (HPC) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) Family Support Center. The mission of HPC is to support and promote the healthy development of families and children in the belief that strong families build strong communities. HPC was established in 1982 by a group of Cleveland Heights-University Heights educators and parents who saw a need for comprehensive, year-round programs and services for families with young children.
Although serving families from any community, the Center has always been housed in a CH-UH school building, thanks to the District’s in-kind donation of space, utilities and maintenance. HPC is currently located inside the Taylor School Building.
(www.shakerfamilycenter.org)When Sussex Elementary School ceased operations in 1987, a community-wide task force was created to explore possible uses for the building. The task force recommended the creation of a nonprofit family center organization, and Shaker Family Center was founded in 1992. Like Heights Parent Center, the City of Lakewood Family Room, and other family centers springing up throughout the country, Shaker Family Center was created to address the needs of families in the community with young children. Today the mission of the Shaker Family Center is to nurture, to educate and to serve young children and their families.
Shaker Family Center partners with other organizations housed in the former Sussex School facility (and many housed elsewhere) to organize community -wide programs and events. These organizations include Carol Nursery School, the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and the Early Childhood Enrichment Center. Building programs bring children together to foster multi-racial and multi-cultural understanding as well as inclusion of children of all abilities.
(http://www.ci.lakewood.oh.us/human_echild_main.html)The City of Lakewood Family Room is a program of the City’s Division of Early Childhood Services. The mission of the Department of Human Services, Division of Early Childhood is to build on the existing strengths of families raising young children by providing resources and services which enhance parenting skills and continue to improve the overall quality of early care and education in Lakewood.
The Family Room was established in 1994 in response to a community need identified by the City’s Division of Early Childhood Services, based on the belief that strengthening and supporting parents, would ultimately strengthen families and the larger community. The establishment of the Lakewood Family Room came about through the collaborative efforts of City government, City schools, providers, neighborhood organizations, clergy and neighborhood residents. The Family Room is housed within the St James Child Care Center. Space is donated in kind from St James Catholic Church in exchange for technical assistance to the childcare center operated by the Church.
>> Greater Cleveland Family Support Consortium