Join Us December 16, 2023

Celebrating The Village Gala

We are excited to relaunch our fundraising efforts while celebrating members of our village at our 2023 Celebrating the Village Gala! This exciting event will showcase our work; past, current, and future while celebrating those who have supported and helped ensure our success over the years. We would be honored if you would join us to make this event a huge success by support our programs and services while having a great time with others who care and becoming part of our Village!

About Us

Sunlight Village, Inc., a faith based non-profit corporation, has been providing mental health and support services throughout Montgomery County, Dayton, Ohio since 2008. We have a dedicated Board of Directors, team of professionals, advocates and support staff who ensure quality programs and services to all participants despite economic, social, racial or gender status.

Sunlight Village’s initial population focus was transitional age youth and young adults (14-25 years of age) but due to the extensive mental, emotional, and behavioral needs of school age children in the African American communities of Dayton we expanded our scope to ensure we could service young children and their families.

SUPPORTING THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR YOUTH AND COMMUNITY.

Groups, Education, Training and Presentations:

Our team, community partners and area resources are working to restart our programs and groups within inner-city / West Dayton that will support families, parents, youth and children who are faced with mental, emotional and/or behavioral health concerns.
We have a strong focus on helping our youth and young adults recover, heal and/or cope with mental health concerns such as trauma, grief and loss, anger, isolation and more. We will work with youth and care givers through appropriate groups that are led by professionals and/or peers.
Parent services are also very important. We are restarting our parent coaching groups that will introduce and support while teaching the tools and skills needed to nurture parent and child bonding, child and youth development to include mental, emotional and behavior education and more.
We want to work with the family as a “whole” to decrease the incidence of school suspensions and/or expulsions, court involvement and/or recidivism due to mental, emotional and/or behavioral concerns while supporting positive parent engagement.

Connections for Success Youth Leadership Program (PIRYR):

Education

To promote learning and academic improvement with connections to educational resources.

Social Engagement

Promote social activities and engagement within the community and develop self-awareness.

Health & Wellness

Promote mental health and overall wellness while helping to build resilience.

Workforce Development

To create and develop career exploration and skill building opportunities helping the youth to outline and meet their goals.

Walker Boarding House & Self-Sufficiency Project:

This is a new project within the Connections For Success Program that will allow Sunlight Village to turn an eight-bedroom duplex (4 bedrooms each side) into a boarding house for 8-10 young adults (age 17-20yrs) in our program who are homeless, for up to a period up to 18 months.

The Walker House was the former property and home of one of our previous Board Members, Mr. Alton Walker,
who was always a major advocate for Sunlight Village and the youth. This project was name and honored after him. The property has been acquired by Sunlight Village with plans to begin high quality renovations and upgrades to ensure the youth learn to become self-sufficient in a relaxing, secure and beautiful environment.

The HFM will provide the inner-city West Dayton community, currently a food desert, with convenient access to nutritious, affordable, fresh, quality foods and products that support health and wellness, all within a family and community-friendly environment.

The HFM was also developed to address the need for a consistent business component that will allow our youth and young adults an opportunity to gain hands on workforce skills that will help them become self-sufficient and transition into independence / adulthood. Thanks in part to our inclusion in Co-op Dayton’s Social Enterprise Incubator, the support of Greater Dayton Premier Management and City-Wide Development we have secured a site on the Germantown Street thoroughfare within walking distance of one our city’s largest low-income housing sites. We are diligently working to acquire the remaining funds to begin construction in 2023.

Welcome To Sunlight Village