CITYLINK
Who Are We
CityLink is a collaborative project founded initially by OneCity with local social service providers and area churches which will provide an integrated path to holistic life change for the working poor through the love of Christ. CityLink officially broke ground on August 10th in the West End and is due to open sometime next year.
What We Do
CityLink will implement and maintain integrated best-in-class programs, systems and facilities, mobilize and train a committed volunteer base, develop and nurture strategic community relationships through neighborhood partners, churches and social service agencies, develop and maintain a financially sustainable center, and fight the systems of poverty by being an advocate for the working poor.
The Need
- More than 25% of Cincinnati residents live in poverty
- 33% of children in Cincinnati live in poverty
- Cincinnati has 3rd highest poverty rate in the country, ahead of LA, NY and Chicago
- Cincinnati poverty rate increased from 20% in 1980 to 28% in 2009
[Source: 2000 Census, 2006 U.S. Census, 1980 Census; 2004 Census Bureau American Community Survey]
We must do better and CityLink will pave the way!
The Impact
Similar multi-service centers in other US cities have charted measurable success!
- 60% success rate determined by self-sufficient living for over a year (Father Joe’s Village in San Diego)
- Crime rate surrounding the campus has decreased on average 14% per year since its opening in Fall, 2005 (Haven for Hope in Phoenix, September 2007)
- Homeless % down 83% since comparable Miami Center opened! (Community Partnership for Homeless Inc. in Miami, January 2008)
We believe CityLink will be a place of restoration, relationship, life-skill development and hope, and we anticipate significant life-change for all those involved.
For more information about CityLink, please visit www.citylinkcenter.org.