Our Mission: Heartland Center serves the people of Northwest Indiana through research on social issues, educational programs, leadership training, and community coalition building. Our mission is to work in solidarity with all segments of society, especially the poor, to construct a more just and human society.

At Heartland Center our work is anchored to the belief that social change is possible only when communities are empowered with the requisite information and training. We’ve launched this website as an effort to provide the community with more access to our various programs and research, all of which are listed below and explained in greater detail throughout the site.

Research: Since 1987 Heartland Center has produced 15 major studies and 8 briefs. These documents provide churches, community groups, governments, and businesses with quality social analysis on significant regional issues that enables them to work towards sound social policy and action. Visit the research page for an archive of our studies and briefs as well as executive summaries.

Educational programs and leadership training: Enduring social change in Northwest Indiana requires cooperation among diverse sectors of society and we have sponsored numerous presentations designed to cultivate both diversity and cooperation. Speakers have included Sr. Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States (Random House, 1993; Vintage, 1994) and George Weigel, a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and author of Witness to Hope (Cliff Street Books 1999), a biography of Pope John Paul II. Information about upcoming presentations can be found in News & Events.

Community coalition building: Heartland Center manages a communication network that informs people about pending legislation and inspires their action with the legislature. We also maintain or work in partnership with the following programs: the Northwest Indiana Council on Urban Affairs, Our Faith at Work, the Global Solidarity Partnership program, and Habitat for Humanity. More information about these programs can be found in Our Programs. We also publish two newsletters, Voices from the Heartland (a Heartland Center publication) and Issues (a publication of the Office of Peace and Social Justice). Archived copies of Voices from the Heartland and Issues are available on the website in PDF format.