About Us

Our Mission

We believe thriving communities are created when all neighbors can reach their full potential. Therefore, the Highland Center works to provide solutions that improve family well-being and to serve as a central hub that anchors the Highland neighborhood. 

A young girl in a pink shirt and a woman wearing a straw hat with blue flowers, both smiling. The girl is wearing a paper crown and they are in a library with bookshelves in the background.

Strategic Focus

To accomplish this mission, the Center and its partners offer programs and amenities in three targeted areas. 

  • Cradle-to-Career Education: Create educational opportunities for school success and lifelong learning

  • Financial Opportunity: Provide resources to meet basic family, housing, and employment needs alongside developing assets

  • Neighbor Wellness: Offer health, community, and cultural connections for holistic well-being 

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History

More than a century ago, Highland Baptist Church opened its doors on Olive Street, establishing a place of worship and service that would become an important part of the Highland neighborhood. After the congregation merged with First Baptist Church in the mid-1990s, the Highland Center was born.

For more than a decade, Volunteers of America North Louisiana managed the facility. In 2010, the congregation that is now St. Francis Episcopal Church for the Highlands was established and soon began working alongside other local churches to create the Highland Blessing Dinner, a ministry that continues to bring neighbors together around food and fellowship.

This collaborative effort grew into Highland Center Ministries—a diverse network of congregations working together to serve the community. The ministry expanded beyond the weekly meal to include programs such as clothing closets and financial services. Congregational partners include All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, St. Francis Episcopal Church for the Highlands, First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

In 2019, the Highland Center faced the possibility of permanent closure. In response, passionate community members came together to preserve this community resource, ultimately enabling our nonprofit to regain ownership of the Highland Center property.

Following this transition, leadership undertook a year-long Neighborhood Assessment, and findings informed a new Strategic Plan focused on ensuring that the Highland Center would remain true to its commitment: “Here to Serve, Here to Stay.”

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Our Impact

A 2026 study by LSU-Shreveport’s Institute for Nonprofit Research and Administration found that participation in Highland Center programs was associated with gains in education and training, workforce skills, housing improvement, and community participation, compared with a control group of community members. Read more ➝

A group of three young people posing inside, all smiling at the camera. The setting appears to be an indoor space with brick, glass, and beige walls.