Friendship Houses
A Friendship House is a haven of hope in a vulnerable neighborhood. A Friendship House is a place where relationships are built with neighbors and it serves the children, youth, adults and families by providing year-round neighborhood support. The house is lived in by a Community Coordinator employed by CCC and their family, who not only help the neighborhood - they are part of it.
The Friendship House is the primary component of the Internal Care Unit strategy of CCC in rebuilding the caring infrastructure in our cities. We move community coordinators and their families into Friendship Houses in vulnerable neighborhoods to become the catalysts for caring relationships. They spend time with their neighbors and earn the trust of individuals, families, groups and agencies in the neighborhood. They serve neighbors and join established neighborhood leaders in improving the area. The relationships they form become a foundation for residents to set and achieve basic goals in the areas of community, education, leadership, housing, health, safety and meaningful work.
The Friendship Houses also become a platform for building neighborhood resources through partnerships with other agencies, city services, churches, schools, businesses and residents. Community partners often look to CCC for ways to help increase their effectiveness and impact in our target neighborhoods.