Nonprofit CEO Showcase
Pat Hannan, Executive Director and CEO, Community Connections of Jacksonville
Mission
Community Connections provides housing and help to women and families in need.
Serving Jacksonville
Founded in 1911 as the Young Women’s Christian Association of Jacksonville (YWCA), Community Connections of Jacksonville is one of the oldest human services agencies in Northeast Florida, helping those in need for almost 100 years.
Those served
Community Connections offers day care for homeless and low-income children, after-school and summer camp programs; job training and counseling; GED programs; transitional housing for women, children and families; and our Healthy Families program provides training and support to pregnant women and women with newborns. These services are available to homeless and low-income families and individuals living in Duval and Clay counties.
Biggest challenge
Over the past few years, it has been difficult to watch the homeless population in our city grow so quickly. We have seen an increasing number of families finding themselves homeless for the first time, asking ‘How could this happen to me?’ after losing a job due to downsizing.
Biggest satisfaction
Watching families grow and develop from the day they enter the homeless transitional housing program to the moment they realize that they are going to survive and be able to live on their own. To be able to provide families with shelter, training and the support they need to succeed in life and then watch as they thrive is incredibly uplifting.
Hometown
Albany, N.Y.
First experience with community service
I was a volunteer at Massachusetts General Hospital when I was in college, but the most fun was being a volunteer puppeteer at the Children’s Museum in Jacksonville through the Junior League.
Your job before Community Connections
Director of the Deerwood Center at FCCJ (now Florida State College at Jacksonville).
Upcoming events
Summer Camp matching campaign to support our camp program for homeless and low-income children. Celebration of Leadership - A Tribute To Excellence on Oct. 21 at the Omni to honor Hugh and Susan Greene for their tremendous work with children’s issues.
Contact information
www.communityconnectionsjax.org or [email protected] or 350-9949.