THE HISTORY OF THE CENTERS FOR FAMILY LIFE
Formerly (THE NASHVILLE CENTER FOR BLACK FAMILY LIFE)

The Nashville Center for Black Family Life was founded in September, 1985.  A group of five concerned citizens were invited to consider writing a grant for substance abuse prevention services for African-Americans.  Although the initial grant effort was unsuccessful, the group remained committed to its mission of increasing prevention services for African-Americans, and within months, "The Center" was incorporated and established as a non-profit, service, educational, and training organization.



The Center's purpose was to enhance the lives of African-American children and their families.  Programs were designed to assure the survival and success of family members at school, in the home and in the local communities.  To those ends, the principle mission of The Nashville Center for Black Family Life was to educate, nurture, motivate and lead African-American families away from the physical and mental death caused by alcohol and other drugs and in the direction of spiritual, cultural, academic, biological, and socioeconomic achievement.

The mission and goals of the Center were carried out through the activities of two major divisions:  The Division of Family Services and The Division of Prevention, Education and Training.



The Center's first program effort were implemented in cooperation and collaboration with the Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation.  During a training event focused on providing substance abuse prevention services to African-American youth who were at high-risk for substance use the park system implemented SNAP (Say No And be Proud) programs in several of its community center with on-going consultation from the Center.



In 1987, the SNAP program was expanded to the Supplemental Education Program (ESP) and was actually administered by volunteers of The Center, using the basement of First Baptist Church, East Nashville.  This program, focused on substance abuse prevention through academic excellence, remained specifically designed for African-American youth, while the programs at the community centers became "Just Say No" programs for all ethnic groups.



In 1988, the Center's dedicated and progressive Board of Directors purchased its first property at 901 Marina Street and hired its first two staff members in 1989.  ESP, a co-ed program for children aged 6-13, was moved to Cleveland Street Community Center, near the Center's new administrative office.  In 1991, ESP moved to the newly acquired "Youth Center" building at 905 Marina, adjacent to the administrative property.



A major project in the Division of Family Services was our African-American male Drop-Out Prevention Program, funded in 1990 by the Tennessee Department of Mental Heath and Mental Retardation (now named the Tennessee Department of Health, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Service), through the Federal Office for Substance abuse Prevention (OSAP), (the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention has been reorganized as the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention).  This pilot program was designed to eliminate school-drop out among African American males through substance abuse prevention.  This program operated daily in the "Youth Center" and included thirty (30) black males, 13-18 years of age, and their families.



In 1992, the Center received a five (5) year $1.7 million demonstration grant from the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.  This African-American Male Substance Abuse Prevention Program was an expansion of the pilot program.  It operated Monday-Thursday until the grant period was over in 1996.  Over 100 black males, 12-18 years of age, and their families benefited from this program.  The goal of this program was to serve 100 black males 12-18 years of age and their families.  With this funding the Center hired eighteen (18) additional staff members.



Each year the Center's Division of Prevention, Education and Training sponsors, with various other groups and organizations, a Conference for Black Families.  The First Annual Conference was held in July, 1986 at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Our Second, through Fifth Annual Conferences were held at Fisk University.  The Sixth and Seventh Annual Conference, were held at the Baptist World Center.  In May of 1993 we had a similarly successful conference at Tennessee State University.  The 1994 and all subsequent conferences have been held at the new Center located at 901 Meridian Street.

​

In July of 1993, the Center culminated a two-year community capital fund-raising effort by negotiating and completely paying for its 35,000 square foot facility, valued at over a million dollar.  This monument to "community effort" includes a gym, dining hall, auditorium, meeting rooms, offices, and small group classroom suites.  Much of the space is available for rent to the Nashville community for special events to help defer the operating cost of the building.



In 1996 the Board of Director’s expanded the mission of The Nashville Center for Black Family Life to include four new Centers.  Now, in  addition to The Black Family Life Center, there is also The Education Center, The Conference and Training Center, The Health and Counseling Center, and The Residential Center.  The Board chose as the umbrella name for its expanded organization, THE CENTERS FOR FAMILY LIFE.



In the fall of 1996, the Center began operation of the city's largest alternative high school in its Education Center.. In this setting we work with teens who have been suspended or expelled from regular public school because of a zero-tolerance infraction. Our school is state approved and in addition to a full academic curriculum, offers a variety of unique opportunities for an alternative school such as vocational education, introduction to the arts, a basketball team and counseling for families.

In the spring of 2000 Metro Schools was able to move the alternative school to one of its own buildings.  The move was necessitated because the Center could not afford the near million dollars worth of renovations for a school.  In the summer of 2002, the Center sold its building.  The Center will continue to promote healthy family and community life for African-American and other families and children.  It will focus on helping other community entities, especially churches do outreach family ministry. The Center welcomes all who care to be a part of its efforts.



In the winter of 2003, the Center sold its huge building and moved into the current location at 511 20th Avenue North.  This building is owned by The Spruce Street Community Development Center of Spruce Street Baptist Church.  The Center scaled back its programming to provide individual and family counseling and education advocacy.  We merged efforts with Spruce Street to provide social services to its members and the surrounding community.  Of special significant are the services that we provide to their weekly feeding program for the homeless and hungry community residence.