The Omega Community Development Corp. has started up a new subsidiary to support five Northwest Dayton neighborhoods.
And leadership has shifted for the local nonprofit to support the launch RISE Northwest Development Corp.
Omega CDC has been working to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in Northwest Dayton since 1997. It was founded by the Omega Baptist Church in Dayton, focusing on fostering education, housing, economic vitality, and community wellness.
"The church had a vision for just bringing into operation these services for families, community," said Vanessa Ward, CEO of Omega CDC. "And particularly, we had three pillars: family development, youth development, and economic development."
"More community engagement is really what we want ultimately,"
Vanessa Ward formerly served as president of the organization before recently transitioning to CEO and has been working with the corporation since 2015.
But she was not the first Ward to work with the Omega CDC. Her daughter, Rachel Ward said she joined the organization back in 2009 to help with youth development programs before returning in 2021.
She most recently served as vice president at Omega CDC but she is now taking over as president for her mother to advance the organization's core work at its Hope Zone.
"We are focused on 17 neighborhoods in Northwest Dayton, our work goes really deeply in three," Rachel Ward said. "Dayton Public Schools, Fairview Elementary, Edwin Joel Brown Middle School, and Thurgood Marshall High School. And we deliver our services in what we call a two generation format for poverty reduction."
She said that format takes a "cradle to grave" approach, working with children, their adult parents or caregivers and seniors to stabilize families and increase economic stability across the community.
As her daughter takes over leadership of operations and strategic direction for Omega CDC, Vanessa Ward will focus on leading RISE Northwest as it embarks on a focused effort in the Mt. Vernon, Fairview, College Hill, Hillcrest, and Dayton View Triangle neighborhoods.
She said the organization worked directly with those communities to pinpoint what they wanted prioritize. After conducting resident-led, community workgroups, Omega CDC found that better and affordable housing came out on top.
"We want to build wealth and help people understand how to build wealth. So what does it look like to have home ownership elevated as a priority in this region, in these five neighborhoods," said Vanessa Ward. "And these five neighborhoods encompass the schools that we are working in already. So it means that we are reinforcing and deepening our impact in stabilizing those homes for the children and their families."
Through a partnership with Purpose Built Communities, RISE Northwest has joined a network to help in these efforts.
Vanessa Ward said the organization had to have half a million dollars to start their subsidiary with this network – and they continue to rely on community support to fund and inform their work.
“Community engagement is at the heart and the soul of the work that we do," she said. "And as the nonprofit subsidiary, our goal is to bring the resources around to support the community in achieving those goals.”
Rachel Ward said those communities can learn more about affordable and better housing opportunities at monthly Hope Zone work group meetings, held the first Monday of each month at Grace United Methodist Church from 5 to 7 p.m.
“We're always sharing what's coming up, ways to be engaged, ways to learn more about the housing that's available," she said.
Vanessa Ward said RISE Northwest will have its first board meeting on Feb. 12 and the organization is working on launching a new website for its subsidiary.
"More community engagement is really what we want ultimately," she said. "We want the community to see themselves as the assets that they need. You are the change that you want to see. We are here simply as community quarterbacks, bringing this collective impact process to reality."
