Beacon House was established in 1990 in response to the need for educational and culturally rich programs for the at-rish youth in the overwhelmingly drug and violence plagued Edgewood Terrace neighborhood. Once a very nice place to live, Edgewood Terrace had become a "distressed" property, marked by complaints about broken appliances, boarded up apartments, inadequate heating, dilapidated plumbing, a collapsed parking garage, and broken and shot out windows. Neglected and deferred maintenance led to increased vacancies and these units ofen became temporary dens for vandals and drug users. At this time, Beacon House operated out of a vacant four bedroom apartment.

In the late 1990s, Edgewood Terrace was sold to a non profit housing development corporation, Community Preservation and Development Corportation (CPDC). CPDC completed an extensive multi-million dollar renovation. Today, Edgewood Terace is a newly renovated complex that provides quality affordable housing to low and middle income individuals, seniors and families. Today, welfare recipients, the working poor, as well as middle income families and seniors enjoy safe and decent affordable housing. Beacon House continues to serve children, operating out of a 6,000 square food center within an apartment complex. Today, everyone will agree that hope is alive at Edgewood.

Since 1990 to the present, Beacon House's mission has been and continues to be "to provide at-risk youth with opportunities for positive educational and culturally rich programs in order to discourage involvement with drugs, gangs and violence and to coulnter risk factors including poverty, malnutrition, and early sexual activity. Beacon House's goals include to support youth in creating pro-social relationships with peers and adults at an early ade in order to prvent delinquency and violence, to weaken youths negative beliefs and values, encourage youth to be involved with school activities, and provide support to youth in order for them to achieve academicly.

Accomplishments

• After school study program
• A summer day camp and a week-long summertime camping trip to the country
• Fall winter retreat to the mountains
• Two youth football and basketball teams
• A community/recreation center
• A mentoring program for male and female students grades 6 through 12
• A Saturday arts and crafts program
• Enrichment trips
• Distribution of food, clothes, and furniture
• Partnerships with community groups
• Holiday festivities