Friendship House
Not all neighborhoods look the same, but they all have at least one thing in common: neighbors. Most people care about their neighborhood. We generally desire to live in a place where we feel safe and comfortable, a place where neighbors can call on one another to watch the house when going out of town or to watch the kids as they play in the sprinklers. Physical resources like schools, businesses, churches, hospitals, grocery stores, and parks also help shape our neighborhoods. Building a network of support in neighborhoods with fewer resources can help lead to more than just friendship. It can be the difference between living a life of connection versus isolation. As residential networks grow, our neighborhoods become stronger, and so does our city.
The Friendship House is CCC’s most intensive strategy to strengthen the infrastructure of caring relationships in Abilene. The goal of a Friendship House is to be a tool for change in under-resourced neighborhoods that dream of a brighter future. Relationships are built among neighbors as the Friendship House serves children, youth, adults and families by providing year-round neighborhood support.
Community Coordinators and their families move into Friendship Houses to become the catalysts for mutually-beneficial relationships and to become part of the neighborhood they serve. They spend time with their neighbors to learn the unique characteristics of individuals, families, groups, and agencies in the neighborhood. They then build on these relationships to identify, equip, and join established leaders in advocating for their neighborhood. The relationships they form become a foundation for residents to recognize their own strengths and assets on the way to setting and achieving 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 Friendship House neighborhoods.
Learn more about each of our Friendship Houses: