• 1,856 residents live in the Cayce Homes, making it Nashville’s largest public housing development.
• 84% of the total population is African-American.
• The average annual net income is $4,306 – a decrease of $472 from 2001.
• Women head 88% of the homes and children represent 56% of the total population of Cayce.
• The average family has three members -- a mother and two children.
• 50% of the persons age 25 and up within one mile of Martha O'Bryan Center do not have a high school education.
  

Typically, families living at or below the poverty line are the first to feel the effects of a softening economy. The recent economic downturn has certainly affected Cayce residents, as reflected in the decrease of average annual income and a reduction in the number of working families.

The children of Cayce attend schools within the Stratford cluster of the Metro Nashville School Systems - Warner and Kirkpatrick Elementary Schools; Bailey, Dalewood, and East Middle Schools; and Stratford High School. These are the city's worst performing schools, both in academics and attendance. The out-of-school suspension rate at Dalewood Middle School was 31.8%; Startford High School's rate was 35.6%. These are well above the Davidson County average of 22.7% and they have risen each of the last three years. Further, only 9% of males and 10% of females in our neighborhood complete secondary education, not even half as much as the national average.

These challenges make it even more difficult for the families we serve to become self-sufficient and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. In times like these, the services and programs provided by Martha O’Bryan Center become critical to families living here in Cayce.