Cultivating space where faith, family, and community thrive.
The Living Wells Community & Development Center (TLWCDC) is a faith-based nonprofit serving youth and families in Cleveland and surrounding communities. We exist to create safe, supportive spaces where people can heal, grow, learn, and thrive — emotionally, spiritually, and practically.
We believe that strong families and supported youth create stronger communities. Many of the families we serve face challenges like food insecurity, trauma, academic struggles, housing instability, and isolation. Living Wells responds with consistent care, creative expression, faith-rooted encouragement, and access to basic needs.
Our programs are built on three simple truths:
- People heal in safe community.
- Youth thrive when they are seen, supported, and believed in.
- Faith and practical support belong together.
What We Do
Living Wells operates as a community hub offering:
After-School & Summer Youth Programming
Tutoring, therapeutic groups, creative arts, and mentoring designed around each young person’s needs.
Family Support & Care-by-Case Navigation
We help families connect to food, housing, mental health care, and community resources, walking alongside them every step of the way.
Creative Arts & Movement
Dance, music, visual arts, and performance used as tools for healing and self-expression.
Faith-Based Programming
Worship circles, spiritual development, and values-based community spaces open to all.
Food Access
Daily snacks, meals during programming, and a growing family pantry.
Our Approach
Everything we do is built on safety, dignity, and relationship.
We follow strict youth protection policies, including:
- A two-adult rule at all times
- Background checks and screening for all volunteers and staff
- Training in trauma-informed care, de-escalation, and mandated reporting
Our goal is not just to offer programs — it’s to create consistency, trust, and belonging for the families who need it most.
Our Story
The Living Wells Community & Development Center was born on Roxbury Road in East Cleveland — the childhood home of our founder, Ashley Wilson’s, grandparents, Jennie and James Moore. Jennie Moore moved to Cleveland from Mississippi as a teenager and settled in East Cleveland, where she and her husband raised ten children. Their home became more than a family gathering place — it was a community hub where neighbors knew each other by name, doors stayed open, and everyone belonged. It was there that Ashley first learned that family runs deeper than blood.
Years later, during her senior year at Cleveland State University, Ashley gathered a group of women and asked one question: Where do we start? Each woman in the room named her own tie to East Cleveland, and the group reached a unanimous decision — community restoration would begin at the heart of the city: its family, its culture, its resilience. That meeting became the catalyst for The Living Wells Community & Development Center, an organization rooted in faith in Christ Jesus and dedicated to family well-being.
Ashley’s heart for community had already shown itself years earlier. In 2017, Fox 8 News and The Plain Dealer featured her “Birthday Wish” — collecting gently used prom dresses and creating a boutique-style experience for young women, with support from her high school, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, along with friends, Euclid’s Greenhouse, and the surrounding community.
Faith has been the throughline of it all. Ashley gave her life to Christ at 13 years old, finding solace in the truth that a Savior died for her and gave her new life. That personal relationship with Christ remains woven into everything she does — and it’s why faith sits at the center of Living Wells, not as an added feature, but as the reason the work exists.
Ashley’s connection to the arts runs just as deep. She began exploring the arts in 8th grade, after years of hearing she couldn’t sing — and instead of walking away, she leaned in and found healing. That personal discovery became the seed for HeARTwork, Living Wells’ program integrating art into mental health and emotional expression.
Today, Ashley is an advocate for mental health, equity, and families — values that trace directly back to Roxbury Road, where she first understood what it meant to feel safe, seen, and cared for by an entire community. Read our founder’s full story
Why We Exist
The Living Wells was created to meet a real need in our community: a place where youth and families don’t fall through the cracks.
We saw too many young people navigating school, trauma, and life without enough support. We saw families working hard but still struggling to access food, resources, and stability. So we built Living Wells to be a bridge — connecting people to care, creativity, faith, and opportunity.
Our Vision
We are growing toward a full community center where youth, families, and adults can access:
- Education and tutoring
- Creative and performing arts
- Therapeutic support
- Faith-based programming
- Career exposure and life skills
- Retreats and community gatherings
Our long-term vision is a thriving, multi-generational community hub rooted in compassion, creativity, and hope.
Our Programs
Care by Case
Resource navigation and case management to connect families with the support they need most.
HeARTwork After-School Programming
A weekly rhythm designed to meet the whole young person:
- Mondays — Tutoring and individual mentorship
- Wednesdays — HeARTwork sessions, exploring different forms of art as a medium for emotional expression
- Fridays — Community & Me, featuring career exploration and experiences across greater Cleveland
Family Support Services
Enrolled families receive:
- Parenting workshops focused on emotional well-being
- Ongoing community-based support
- Full access to Care by Case services
Families begin with an intake process that helps Living Wells understand each family’s unique needs and strengths, so we can support them in the way that fits them best.