With a child poverty rate of nearly 45%, Springfield, MA is now the sixth poorest city in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2007).  The loss of good paying jobs, rising crime, and troubled schools in Springfield have led to the flight of middle-income residents to the suburbs and surrounding cities and towns. With that loss of residents has come a loss of city tax revenues. This in turn, led to a severe fiscal crisis which necessitated a state takeover of the city's finances in 2004 and massive across the board budget cuts. Funding for summer jobs, swimming pools, sports leagues, schools, and other youth programming have been cut over the years, leaving few recreational and educational program resources for low-income youth living in many neighborhoods of Springfield.

The neighborhoods served through the Youth Center Campaign are among the poorest in the city with high rates of youth crime, gang activity, and drug selling. Indian Orchard is an isolated neighborhood with a 29% poverty rate in the poorest section around the Moxon Village housing project. The North End has a child poverty rate of 86%, making it the poorest community in the state. This includes the Riverview Apartments in the Brightwood section, the largest public housing project in the city with 344 units.

The need for after-school programs is well-documented, as are the consequences of not engaging the youth in poor, underserved neighborhoods in Springfield. Statewide, 21% of young people care for themselves after school. This percentage is no doubt higher for the 5500 children who live in the target neighborhoods. As a result, Springfield has seen a yearly rise of 5-8% in gang activity and youth crime (Springfield Police Department). Teen pregnancy rates are more than three times the state average. Nearly half of those attending high school never graduate.