History

Incorporated between 1874 and 1910, the North Midtown Community is one of the oldest single-family residential areas in Jackson, MS. While it was once considered to be one of more more prominent middle class neighborhoods in the city in 1990, the neighborhood deteriorated into one of the most blighted in the city, with a poverty rate of 47%, a rate that was at the time, twice that of the City of Jackson. The 1990 U.S. Census showed a population decline of approximately 13% from 1980, four times the decrease in the City of Jackson. The 1990 Census also showed that 22% of the houses in the Midtown area were vacant.

Because the Midtown areas was so in need of improvements, the CDC chose to work in this area also because of being bordered by a number of large institutions such as the Baptist Medical Center, Millsaps College, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which have a vested interest in seeing neighborhood improvements and could, hopefully, be called on the provide resources to assist in the project.

Desiring to have the greatest impact on families and recognizing that at-risk children benefit most from wrap-around services, NMCDC sought to improve the quality of life and academic potential of neighborhood children through the use of family intervention, parent support, reading instruction, an off-site residential summer camp, a neighborhood health clinic, round-the-clock crime prevention, and limited after-school care. Working in collaboration with neighborhood residents, the initiative is multi-faceted and comprehensive and we have had major progress on many fronts:

197 Habitat for Humanity homes have been built.
Mississippi Department of Human Service has sponsored more than nearly 1000 graduates in the Partnership's Job Readiness program.
City of Jackson has provided $500,000 in infrastructure support in the form of street paving, sidewalk creation and sewer/drainage improvements.
Jackson Police Department has operated a mini-precinct and provided a full-time resident police officer who lives in a Habitat home in the community.
University Medical Center - School of Nursing operates a full-time medical clinic, conveniently located in Midtown and geared towards the medically underserved; in the last year alone more that 2,000 patients received services.