Gerard Place: Helping to Break the Cycle of Poverty
Gerard Place strives to break the cycle of poverty by providing support and housing for single-parent families who are experiencing homelessness, poverty and/or domestic/substance abuse, primarily in the Bailey-Delavan area. The agency provides services designed to empower individuals through education, employment, vocational training, life skill classes and counseling.
The Oishei Foundation has a long history of supporting Gerard Place in a number of ways including support for programs that address transitional housing and other basic human needs; capacity building; and capital improvements. We recently helped fund the development of the Gerard Place Education and Community Center that houses the recently-opened Children’s Academy. Approximately 100 children from the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood will be able to attend the new early childhood center that will give them an early start to learning, while their moms have a safe, caring option for childcare while they work or pursue training or education. The Foundation has also supported a new training center aimed at increasing skills so that individuals can attain and keep family sustaining jobs.
