The Near West Side/May Dugan Multi-Service Center was founded in 1969 as a non-profit, neighborhood-based social service center on the Near West Side of Cleveland. The Founders of the Center, an economically and culturally diverse group of community residents, were inspired by President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty and the mandate of the Kennedy-Johnson Economic Opportunities Act to make an active commitment to the proposition that urban families and neighborhoods could and should continue to be self-directed, self-sufficient contributors to the vitality of the community.

Throughout thirty-seven years of dedicated effort, the May Dugan Multi-Service Center has exerted sustained effort in remaining faithful to its mission of “enriching life and building community through advocacy, education, coordination, and collaboration by working with individuals, families, and communities throughout Cleveland’s West Side and the Greater Cleveland area.” Consistent with this mission, the May Dugan Center operates under three primary goals:

•   Provide a wide array of direct services that are designed to meet the needs of individuals and families who have the most critical and complex unmet needs.

•   Take a leadership role in bringing together local residents, schools, churches, and other local service agencies through collaborations, coalitions, planning committees, and cooperative endeavors.

•  Act as a facility providing affordable tenancy to non-profit and governmental agencies that provide  a wide range of services in order to offer a readily accessible range of services to individuals/families in the community.

The services of the May Dugan Center are a lifeline for approximately 3,000 individuals and families from all ages across the lifespan and from diverse ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds who visit the Center each year for a wide range of services. A very high percentage of the families receiving help through the May Dugan Center are African-American, Latino/Hispanic, and/or Appalachian White, and virtually all have incomes that meet the poverty threshold for poverty under federal guidelines.

Through a comprehensive care model that offers outreach, crisis intervention, case management, counseling, education, and follow-up services, the May Dugan Center offers assistance in areas that include, but are not limited to: housing; employment; life skills training; emergency assistance; crisis management; family life; child care; child and teen development; health/mental health care; reproductive health; HIV/AIDS Prevention.  

All services offered at the Center are available in Spanish and English. The Center is open thirteen hours per day (Monday through Friday) to provide maximum access to the community. In addition to providing affordable tenancy to other community organizations, the Center offers public meeting space free of charge to local organizations. The facility is readily accessible by public transportation, has ample free parking, and is fully accessible to those experiencing physical challenges.