After 40 years of committed service on Indianapolis’ near Eastside, Shepherd Community Center is breaking ground on its most ambitious project yet.
The Ruby Project will bring new housing, a wellness center and expanded education to one of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.
What started in 1985 as a shared Thanksgiving meal has grown into an organization reaching more than 10,000 individuals each year. With the Ruby Project, Shepherd Community Center is looking not just to grow, but to deepen the engagement and connection with the community it serves.
This month, Shepherd Community Center will break ground on the centerpiece of the Ruby Project: the new Shepherd Community Health and Wholeness Center. This full-size wellness facility and indoor playground will not only expand physical space but also enhance the Center’s ability to meet the needs of neighbors at every stage of life.
Community organizations like ours play a vital role in supporting holistic health by addressing housing, food, education, employment and other root causes of the cycle of poverty. Together with partners, we coordinate care and invest in solutions that strengthen long-term outcomes for families.
The new Shepherd Community Health and Wholeness Center is part of that broader effort to remove barriers and help families build a strong foundation for well-being. Partners like CareSource Indiana help make this possible by supporting programs that reach individuals and families with complex needs.
Through our Continuum of Care model, we remain engaged with children, teens and their parents from birth through adulthood. More than 500 families, including over 400 youth from birth through 12th grade, participate in holistic, relationship-based programs and services designed to support physical, emotional, spiritual and academic growth.
In addition to the Health and Wholeness Center, The Ruby Project plans to acquire and renovate the adjacent building to centralize and expand its services. The Shepherd Community Academy will double in size, enabling enrollment to grow from 140 to 280 students. With 82.4% of our students already reading at a third-grade literacy rate, more than double the local average, this expansion promises a generational impact.
Housing is central to the Ruby Project vision as well. Through the building and completion of Warrick Place Apartments and Building Foundations of Hope, a partnership with Arbor Homes, Shepherd Community Center will bring safe, attainable housing to the neighborhood. Job coaching, financial literacy, counseling, addiction recovery, child care and food security are included in this comprehensive model.
But beyond buildings or programming, the Ruby Project is about community, purpose, and support. Poverty isolates, but the Shepherd Community Center has shown us hope creates community. Through deeper neighborhood engagement, we are equipping families with the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty with dignity and opportunity.
Through the Ruby Project, Shepherd Community Center is laying the foundation for another 40 years of hope.
Jay Height is the executive director of Shepherd Community Center, a faith-based, nonprofit established in 1985 with a simple but staggering mission: to break the cycle of poverty on the near Eastside of Indianapolis through a Continuum of Care that meets the physical, emotional, spiritual and academic needs of our neighbors.
For further information and to discuss how you can engage with Shepherd for their Ruby Celebration, contact Assistant Executive Director Andrew Green at 317-375-0203 or andrewg@shepherdcommunity.org.
