About Us

Good Neighbor House was founded in 1994 out of a collaboration of 8 Dayton area churches. At that time, the churches were attempting to meet the needs of the indigent in the community, on a small scale, based on the limited resources of each congregation. The churches believed that pooling their resources would make a greater impact on the community and on the ability of the church to have a greater witness in the Dayton area.

Soon after the opening of the agency in 1994 the need for a clinic to serve the “working poor” was posed as a need in the Dayton community. The Good Neighbor House began working with various community organizations to make this vision a reality. The Kettering Medical Center became a key partner in financing this venture. The clinic was begun in April, 1996 and opened to offer medical, dental, vision services as well as community health education and screenings to the working uninsured who met specific guidelines.

It quickly became evident that providing education and guidance to help clients become self-sufficient in critical areas of finance, health, and other family systems is one of the best ways to serve our neighbors.

Today, Good Neighbor House offers a full range of provisional services to the community. Food, clothing, household items and furniture are offered to those clients who present specific needs by bringing a referral from another local human services organization. Currently we collaborate with approximately 140 local agencies to assist their clients. All of the provisional areas are staffed by volunteers or employees sent by other local agencies with whom we collaborate, i.e. Senior Resource Connection, Montgomery County Youth Works Program, Work Experience Program, etc.

The Clinic continues to offer medical, dental and vision services to the working, uninsured. Clients must be working with no insurance, not be receiving any public assistance, and meet the poverty level income guidelines. The clinic is primarily staffed by volunteer clinicians, although over the past 2 years we have been able to obtain funds to pay a dentist for approximately 8 hours each week to ensure service provision in this area. . We are in need of funding to keep this dental service in place.

The mission statement of the Good Neighbor House is as follows:

Following the example of Jesus, Good Neighbor House exists to promote
community development and family health and wellness through direct
services, education and creative partnerships.

GNH fulfills this mission statement by reaching out to our neighbors in crisis to provide basic necessities while treating them with dignity and respect.

How we do it…

Through a group of dedicated, committed volunteers and financial partners, GNH serves people needing emergency assistance with food, clothing, household items and furniture. Volunteer health-care professionals assist in offering medical, dental and vision services to low-income, working families who have no health insurance and who do not qualify for public assistance. Dayton area businesses provide services and training within their field of expertise, along with much-needed general funding for the operation of GNH.

In order to clearly understand each person’s needs, a private interview is conducted. GNH volunteers strive to fill physical, mental, emotional and spiritual voids with Christ-like compassion. Health care professionals aim to administer a healing touch to those who are suffering.

GNH fosters positive and productive relationships with other community agencies by establishing cooperative partnerships to bridge service gaps for the clients. Permeating all our services, it is the goal of GNH to offer a hand in need to assist clients to achieve self-sufficiency.

Board Members

Tax Forms:
 
2006 Form 990 (PDF - 1,500kb)