Meyer Center for Urban Ministries

Phone: 254-296-9866
Email: Meyer Center
1226 Washington Ave.
Hours are: Monday through Thursday 7:30a-1:00p
and Monday -Thursday 4:00p-5:30p
Friday 7:30a-Noon and Saturday 8:30a-11:30a

Located in the former Central Presbyterian Church, Mission Waco purchased the two-story facility in August 2004 to create both an easily accessible social service center for the poor and marginalized and a collaboration of organizations which could assist their needs, practically and through research and development. Much of the downstairs was renovated in the Fall of 2004 to provide intake, case management, emergency shelter voucher distribution, showers, laundry, hair cuts, and meals. The facility opened January 2, 2005.
    In late January 2005, Mission Waco received two new grant awards to assist the transitional and emergency homeless. The former grant will provide job training and placement assistance, G.E.D. classes, alcohol/drug rehabilitation, and additional case management for transitional homeless. In light of these awards, Mission Waco moved their MPowerment Job Training Program, one of two G.E.D. classes, and alcohol/drug intake services to the Meyer Center.
    One of the primary objectives is to provide a type of “one-stop shop” for the poor and disenfranchised to be able to access needed social services in a single location, without the need to travel all over Waco to find those services. Two informational meetings occurred in Fall 2004 with various providers and churches to explore the possibilities once the facility was ready. Mission Waco desires to bring in both permanent and occasional services which help the poor with government benefits, Christian counseling, health care, alcohol/drug recovery services and support groups, legal/judicial assistance, computer training, G.E.D., E.S.L, and literacy training, job training and employment assistance, mental health assessments, and short term classes in parenting skills, anger management, budgeting, etc. To achieve this objective, various reduced rate offices are available in the building that will be offered to the non-profit sector who are committed to helping less resourced individuals and families. A few offices will be offered pro-bono to major agencies (particularly government agencies) to locate a few hours a week on site.
    The second objective is to provide a climate in which viable research and development and policy analysis can occur which will help the poor and marginalized, both locally, nationally, and internationally. Mission Waco wants to identify through these collaborations some of the nation’s best practices and provide research and data around the unique needs of the poor.
    Both efforts not only lend themselves to a host of departmental internships and volunteerism, but also grant funding around some of theses initiatives. Various “think tanks” and cross training also lend themselves to this collaborative.
    The Meyer Center seeks to be an organic and developing entity that will shape itself around those called together. It is assumed that the strategy and opportunities will develop as the center evolves.