| CWAH History In 1988, Community Women Against Hardship (CWAH) was co-founded by the late Gloria L. Taylor and by the late Betty J. Lee. Taylor, while reading a report about the poverty line in the City of St. Louis, joined Lee, a respected journalist, in providing educational and developmental programs for families. The building housing the Center was purchased from the City of St. Louis for $1 and completely renovated with more than $800,000 in cash and in-kind donations.
In addition to the educational programs, the CWAH Family Support Center houses a library, a computer lab, a music laboratory, a warehouse (of donated furniture, appliances, and various household items), a clothing boutique, and a food pantry. Our approach ensures greater success and results in improved self-efficacy, parenting skills, community involvement, and initiative in the lives of women and men, who then positively impact families and the larger community. Since 1988, CWAH has provided services to over 9,000 men, women, and children.
The Center represented the first permanent home for CWAH and is where we are located today. The building housing the Center was purchased from the City of St. Louis for $1 and completely renovated with more than $800,000 in cash and in-kind donations. Skilled volunteers donated over 30,000 hours to assist with the renovation. The Center has allowed us to increase the number of families we serve annually from 30 to over 500, with the average family having 5 to 6 children. Since 1988, CWAH has provided services to over 9,000 men, women, and children. The CWAH Family Support Center houses a library, a computer lab, a music laboratory, a warehouse (of donated furniture, appliances, and various household items), a clothing boutique, and a food pantry. All educational and developmental classes are held at the Center. Helping children achieve success begins with helping parents become successful. Community Women Against Hardship's Parent Opportunity Program helps low- to moderate-income families gain success in the most important ways that support children: achieving economic and personal stability, improving their standard of living, and becoming better parents and strong, stable community members. Participants identify, set, and ultimately meet goals through engaging in our educational and developmental classes which focus on interpersonal and family relationships, education, job readiness, entrepreneurship, personal fitness, nutrition, and mental health. Our approach, focusing on quality and not quantity, ensures greater success and results in improved self-efficacy, parenting skills, community involvement, and initiative in the lives of women and men, who then positively impact families and the larger community.
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