The Opportunity Center is located in southwest Cedar Rapids at the Ladd Library.   This location was chosen due to being a neighborhood of high need & few available resources.  The neighborhood also is home to a high percentage of immigrant/refugee and/or non-English speaking individuals.  The Opportunity Center is a one-stop shop that provides benefit navigation & on-site support by: Connecting to Work Supports, Financial Literacy, Education Opportunities and Connecting to Careers.  

Limitation or Barriers:

• Resource desert for a continuum of need
• Cyclic and generational patterns
• Transportation
• Affordable and safe housing
• Workplace access
• Workplace education
• Affordable and Quality Childcare
• Stigma
• Underlying policy and process issues
• Language

• United Way of East Central Iowa
• VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)
• Kirkwood Community College
• Iowa Workforce Development
• City of Cedar Rapids
• Cedar Rapids Metro Library
• HACAP
• Urban Dreams
• Goodwill
• Linn County
• Rent/Utility Collaboration 
• Continuum of Care
• Horizons
• United We March Forward

• Access to resources
• Training aligned to needs of the community
• Creating career pipelines
• Capacity for non-profits and community based organization
• Business connections and support
• Collaborative problem solving
• Quality non-profits already delivering effective outcomes

We know in Linn County the disproportionate data aligned to race, show significant gaps.  In Linn County 18% of families are living at or below 200% the FPL , or for a family of four income is $53,000.  The average black income is $31, 029 and for Hispanic/Latino income is $53,050.  Contributors such as the unemployment rate ( a 9% gap between white and black individuals) also demonstrate a significnat gap.     We understand that starting at birth, inequities are built into success.  Being able to support the Opportunity Center to address these inequities is a solution to a very distressed neighborhood.

The goal of the Opportunity Center is  to help individuals achieve success by ensuring that they have access to education, networking opportunities, and necessary work supports to keep their family stable to complete their educational program.  Many agencies are also involved in education and training,  but none of those programs are as holistic as the Opportunity  Center is intended to be.  A key learning objective is that it is difficult to complete educational programs when life is volatile. Many in our community experience homelessness, car repair that inhibit their ability to pay rent and/ or get to class or work, struggle to provide adequate food for their family, etc.  The Center will work to address ALL needs a family presents by working with community partners to address those needs as soon as possible. To achieve this the center is partnering with agencies that provide housing, food, and transportation assistance, coupled with tax preparation and financial management services, and education and training.  Key strategies include:

•  Benefits screening & eligibility.  Individuals coming through the door are looking for help.  The Center is designed to meet needs on-site whenever possible for food, housing, child care, health care, transportation, financial literacy, legal services & ESL/adult basic education.  Partners include: Waypoint HACAP/Food Reservoir, Horizons, Iowa Legal Aid & Catherine McAuley.
• Professional Development/Career pipeline.  A core purpose of the Center is to provide professional development services to increase education attainment & link to career pathways.  Services include basic & soft skills, computer literacy, occupational training, job search training, employer linkages & ESL/adult basic education.  Partners include:  Jane Boyd, IowaWORKS, & KCC.
• Information & Referral.  When services cannot be provided on-site, direct referrals will be made through the Linn County