After 20 years working with city youth in Harrisburg who live in poverty and grow up in especially difficult circumstances, the Joshua Group firmly believes education is the best anti-poverty policy.

The Joshua Group is a mission centered 501(c) 3, providing hope and support for at-risk youth particularly through educational and vocational opportunities. The Joshua Group offers programming that addresses the academic and social needs of economically disadvantaged city youth of all ages living in the Allison Hill neighborhood of Harrisburg, which is marked by concentrated poverty, an epidemic of crime, drugs and violence, and failing public schools. Joshua Group’s vision is to eradicate the unacceptably low graduation rates among the poor and minority youth in Harrisburg, thus our efforts are focused on expanding access to educational opportunities and helping young people maximize their academic potential.

The Joshua Group, founded in 1998, began as an at-risk youth mentoring organization dedicated primarily to helping middle and high school males stay in school; a girls program was added in 2009. A presence in the distressed neighborhood was critical in order to be available and accessible to young people in need, thus a blighted building on Market Street in Allison Hill was acquired and converted in to the Joshua House Resource Center for drop in services. Because our programs and services were growing and meeting critical yet unmet needs in the depressed community, we were invited in 2007 to become a Program Partner of the United Way, from which we receive a modicum of operational support. In 2014 the Joshua Group opened the Joshua Learning Center on Allison Hill, where we offer an array of educational programs and services for low income children and families. Each week more than 250 city youth come to the Joshua Learning Center to participate in one of our educational programs, including our academically focused J Crew After-School Program, our free Preschool Program, our full day Kindergarten Program, and our 8-week Summer Learning Program.