As York County's population grew, so did the number of people in poverty. Meeting the increasing demand for assistance was overwhelming for our community's service providers. Before Pathways, people in crisis navigated services independently and traveled all over the county seeking help. In addition, service providers paid out-of-pocket expenses to transport clients to other providers. Transportation and accessibility were critical barriers.

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To meet this challenge, a group of business, church, government, nonprofit and community leaders met to discuss the vision of Pathways and officially formed a Board of Directors in 2017. The founding Board fundraised to purchase a 40,000-square-foot facility, formerly known as the Westend Elementry School. The 98-year-old building required a lot of renovations before our doors could open to the public.  Pathways was incorporated in January 2018, and the group of leaders began to cultivate a network of existing service providers to operate on-site. The Board of Directors educated the community on the vision and built rapport by offering service providers: 

• (COORDINATED CARE) -Intake assessments, referrals, and a warm hand-off to care

• (OPERATING SPACE) Below-market-rate rent for office space or larger suites for Health and Human Service Providers, including Homeless Shelters, with access to meeting rooms, conference rooms, and our large multi-space auditorium

• (NETWORK) A collaborative environment working together to ensure clients become self-sufficient

• (SAFETY) 24/7 security to ensure safety for all

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In September 2019, our vision came to life, and Pathways' doors opened to the public. Our Community Center empowers a collaborative, rather than a competitive approach, working together to reduce the impact of poverty and homelessness in our community. Real solutions must go beyond what any one program can achieve alone.
 

This is why Pathways Community Center exists, a long-term, systematic solution.