Mission & History

As a nonprofit agency, UNC is dedicated to meeting the needs of local low-income families, seniors, youth, and new immigrants while also empowering them to attain self-sufficiency.  To achieve this work, UNC encompasses five programmatic departments (Community Services, Children and Teens, Community Education, Community Revitalization, and Community Health and Aging) and a Housing/Community Development Corporation.  Through this diverse programming, UNC uses an innovative wrap-around approach to address the emerging needs of the community it serves.

UNC’s beginnings date back to 1923, when members of the Bethel Church opened a small settlement house in center city Scranton to serve the needs of the African American community. In 1924, another settlement house opened to serve the new immigrant populations living in the Lower West Side of Scranton. These two independent centers merged in 1970 to form United Neighborhood Services, later renamed United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. UNC continues to embrace the settlement house vision to aid in the solution of problems at the neighborhood level.

MISSION: To work together with neighbors to provide services and create opportunities that empower individuals and build strong, interdependent communities.

VISION: To address emerging social needs and be an innovative leader in building strong interdependent communities based upon our traditional commitment of partnering with individuals, families and neighborhoods.

UNC is proud to be an independent member agency of the United Way of Lackawanna & Wayne Counties, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, National Low Income Housing Coalition, and Housing Coalition of Lackawanna County.

Check out our video about the difference UNC strives to make in our community every day.