The Community Center is located in the south Allison Hill section in the city of Harrisburg, PA. The Community Center provides community-based services and programs to any woman 18 or over who has been involved in the criminal justice system or has had a drug/alcohol or substance abuse history.

Children’s Programming

The Community Center offers programs to assist the children of offenders to reduce the probability of intergenerational crime.

Saturday Sessions is a program funded by the United Way of the Capital Region provides remediation, tutoring, and cultural enhancement for the children. The mother also gains from this project because her participation gives her the opportunity to see how important she is to her child. She helps her child to learn (while she is learning); she helps her child to develop intellectually (and she develops intellectually). Please visit Saturday Session’s web page for more information about this program.

Female offenders have great difficult accessing community resources and arranging services for themselves and their families. The educational system presents its own set of problems for these families. Too often the children of offenders have academic, behavioral, developmental and/or emotional problems which are acted out in the classroom.

The Detention Alternative Program (DAP) is for male and female juvenile offenders in need of monitoring and supportive services while they await their court disposition for having committed an offense. All juveniles must be court ordered into DAP.  Some of the programming and services under DAP include counseling, curfew checks, case management, court accompaniment, and home/school visits.  Please visit DAP’s web page for a full listing of programming and services.

The Treatment Alternative Program (TAP) is for male and female juvenile probationers operated in collaboration with the Dauphin County Juvenile Probation Department.  TAP provides community-based alternatives that include programming and services in lieu of incarceration and placement services to male and female adolescents under formal probation supervision.  Please visit TAP’s web page for a full description of this program.

Adult Programming

The primary objective of the Community Center is to provide women in the Greater Harrisburg area community and the agency's residential clients with the necessary tools and support to reduce recidivism and increase their employability and self-sufficiency.

The menu of comprehensive services and Day Programs includes (but is not limited to):

1. •Case Management & Support Services
   

2. •Life Skill Training
   

3. •HIV/AIDS Prevention/Education (CRCS) and Case Management
   

4. •GED Training conducted by Harrisburg Area Community College
   

5. •Tutoring/Literacy conducted by Tri-County OIC and PA Literacy Council
   

6. •Computer Training
   

7. •Job Readiness/ Job Search/ Job Placement Assistance
   

8. •Crisis Intervention
   

Computer Lab located in the Community Center

Contact Information

Located at:

1515 Derry Street
Harrisburg, PA  17104
(717) 238-9950
Fax:  (717) 236-3585
info@theprograminc.org

Office Hours: 

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

Any woman that has had a brush with the law and/or drug or alcohol history can walk in and receive services.

Click here to download the one page handout about the Community Center.