Description
Arsenal Family and Children's Center was founded in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh in1953 by pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock. Then on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Spock designed the center as a training site for pediatric students to study normal child development. In 1980, Arsenal became a private non-profit organization, and in 1986 at the request of the Mon Valley Committee for the Unemployed, Arsenal established a second site in the City of Clairton. In early 2003, the Lawrenceville site relocated to the Friendship area of Pittsburgh through the purchasing of a building by an anonymous donor. As a result of this move, Arsenal reached out to the community, which has increased enrollment in its programs and diversified its clientele. The center now serves approximately 500 individuals per year, the majority of whom reside in high-risk, economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Current programs include:
Developmental Preschool
Supervised Visitation and Parent Education for Non-custodial Parents and their Children
Individual Parent/Child Mentoring
Teen Parenting and Prevention Program
Infant/Parent Play-Educational Group
Toddler/Parent Play-Educational Group
