The Austin non-profit LifeWorks broke ground today on a new East Austin family resource center. The social services organization says it will increase its ability to serve young people and families in crisis by 25 percent.
LifeWorks already helps about 10,000 families a year through housing programs, counseling and education. They have surpassed their capacity to serve more people, so this will allow them to expand in a community with increasing need.
"Poverty tends to be a very vicious generational cycle," LifeWorks executive director Susan McDowell told KUT News. "We're instead offering a lot of support and opportunity to help young people decide to get a GED, or I'm going to graduate from school, enter a workforce program a college. We are at that critical junction in the road for a lot of youth."
You can see a site plan for the project here. This map shows where it will be built.
