University Settlement characterizes itself as a community based organization. What does this mean in today's dynamic service and business environment?

The Settlement has a physical or geographic identity on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. This includes our main, historic site at 184 Eldridge Street as well as several community centers owned by the NYC Housing Authority but operated by us, a number of school locations, four storefronts, and our new Community Center at Bowery and Houston. The majority of our program participants and many of our staff live close by. Part of our mission is to work alongside local residents to improve the community on many dimensions. We purchase goods and services from local merchants, work with other local organizations on a variety of causes and issues, and encourage staff to serve on many committees and Boards. After so many generations, University Settlement has become an inextricable part of the fabric and culture of the community. We have "settled" in a way that our forebears could have only dreamt possible. 

But the definition of being community-based must be responsive to changing factors, including the changing definition of "community."  Over the past century, and particularly the past several decades, the traditional boundaries of what makes a community have been able to blur and change.  Many people we serve live in other parts of the city but come to join our community because of our program offerings and expertise. Transportation patterns as well as street addresses frequently influence how people choose the programs they need.

In an increasing number of cases, the Settlement has moved beyond the Lower East Side to serve other neighborhoods, or has been asked to do so by government agencies. Our Blended Case Management Program, now 17 years old, serves most of Manhattan and we have an office in Harlem to help meet this demand. Recently, we were awarded a grant to operate a Healthy Families Program in both East Harlem and the Lower East Side, and once again added an uptown office to serve this program. This past year, we have been asked to operate four different after-school programs for over 540 students in Brooklyn in severely under-served areas. And we have passed our tenth anniversary as the "parent" organization for The Door, one of the city's premier youth development agencies located on Broome Street in Manhattan but serving a citywide population.  In many ways, our "community" is less about our geographic location than it is about the New Yorkers who need us.