Founded | 1994 |
---|---|
Founders | Matthew Barnett Tommy Barnett |
Focus | Healthcare, Development |
Location |
|
Area served | 84 centers |
Key people | Matthew Barnett Tommy Barnett |
Website | thedcnetwork.org |
The Dream Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit [1] [2] Christian Pentecostal network of community centers based in Los Angeles, California, established in 1994. The president of Dream Center is Matthew Barnett.
The organization was founded in 1994 by Pastor Matthew Barnett and Tommy Barnett of Dream City Church as a home missions project of the Southern California District of the Assemblies of God. [3]
In 1996, after purchasing the old Queen of Angels Hospital in Echo Park, it transformed it into a social center for the homeless, prostitutes and members of street gangs. [4]
In 2001, Pastor Matthew Barnett and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel merged the Dream Center with the Angelus Temple, making Barnett the senior pastor over Angelus Temple as well as the Dream Center. [5]
Associated Dream Centers have been established in other cities. As of 2022, the organization has established 84 centers in other cities and countries around the world. [6]
Dream Center offers a food bank, clothing and assistance programs for victims of disaster, domestic violence, drug addiction, human trafficking and prisoners. [7] [8]
In 2005, some Hurricane Katrina evacuees staying at the Dream Center said they had difficulty receiving donations. [9] In response to the complaints several social activists, led by Ted Hayes, an advocate for the homeless, called a news conference demanding an investigation of the Dream Center. After visiting the Dream Center, however, and being given a tour of the facility, the activists concluded that the accusations were groundless. "There is no basis to the complaints we've heard," Hayes said, "The horror stories reported to us do not exist." [10]
In 2017, a subsidiary of the Dream Center, in partnership with a private equity fund, purchased the Art Institutes, South University, and Argosy University systems of for-profit colleges from Education Management Corporation. [11] The transaction received significant scrutiny, due to concerns about Dream Center's ability to successfully manage the acquired schools, and criticism that the transaction was designed to allow the schools to avoid increased regulation of for-profit colleges. [11] The transaction was never approved by the Department of Education and in 2019, at least 30 of the art institutes and related colleges were closed, with some closures announced abruptly in the middle of the academic year. [12] [13] Some of the Art Institute programs were transferred to Studio Enterprise, a Los Angeles creative arts training firm funded by principals of the private equity firm Colbeck Capital Management. [14]
The Foursquare Church is an international Evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by preacher Aimee Semple McPherson. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Century City is a 176-acre neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of the most prominent employment centers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and its skyscrapers form a distinctive skyline on the city's westside.
Brentwood School is an independent, secular K–12 coed day school with two campuses located four blocks apart in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.
The Art Institutes (AI) were a private for-profit system of art schools in the United States.
East Hollywood is a densely populated neighborhood with approximately 78,000 residents that is part of the Hollywood area of the central region of Los Angeles, California. Among the sites located within it are the Los Angeles City College, Barnsdall Park, and a hospital district. There are seven public and five private schools, a Los Angeles Public Library branch, and three hospitals. Almost two-thirds of the people living there were born outside the United States, and 90% were renters. According to the 2000 census, the neighborhood had high percentages of people who had never married and single parents.
Angelus Temple is a Pentecostal megachurch in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1923, it is considered the first U.S. megachurch.
Life Pacific University (LPU) is a private Christian Bible college endorsed by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and located in San Dimas, California. LPU serves as the denomination's flagship institution for higher education.
Tommy Barnett is an author, the co-pastor of Dream City Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch in Phoenix, and chancellor of Southeastern University.
The Art Institute of Portland was a for-profit art school in Portland, Oregon, which briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges with many branches in North America, owned and operated by Education Management Corporation. EDMC owned the college from 1998 until 2017, when, facing significant financial problems and declining enrollment, the company sold the Art Institute of Portland, along with 30 other Art Institute schools, to Dream Center Education, a Los Angeles–based Pentecostal organization. Dream Center permanently closed 18 Art Institute schools, including the Art Institute of Portland, at the end of 2018.
Dome Village was a self-governing community of "people unable or [...] unwilling to live in traditional [homeless] shelters". Located in Downtown Los Angeles at 847 Golden Avenue, the complex consisted of 20 geodesic domes and was inhabited by "up to 34 individuals and their family members". Operated by Justiceville/Homeless USA, a non-profit organization, members of Dome Village were politically active in homelessness, nonviolence, and environmental issues.
Argosy University was a private for-profit university with campuses throughout the United States owned by Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), LLC and Education Management Corporation.
West Angeles Church of God in Christ is a Pentecostal megachurch located in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, and a member of the Church of God in Christ.
Dream City Church is a multi-site Pentecostal megachurch based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. The weekly attendance was around 22,500 in 2013. The senior pastor is Luke Barnett.
The Art Institute of Charlotte was a for-profit art school in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was briefly operated as a non-profit institution before it closed in 2018. The school was one of a number of Art Institutes, a franchise of for-profit art colleges with many branches in North America, owned and operated by Education Management Corporation. EDMC owned the college from 1999 until 2017, when, facing significant financial problems and declining enrollment, the company sold the Art Institute of Charlotte, along with 30 other Art Institute schools, to Dream Center Education, a Los Angeles-based Pentecostal organization. Dream Center permanently closed 18 Art Institute schools, including the Art Institute of Charlotte, at the end of 2018.
Matthew Barnett is co-founder of the Dream Center and senior pastor of the Angelus Temple, the central house of worship of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California.
Bel Air Church is a Presbyterian church located in Los Angeles, California. Its campus is located on Mulholland Drive in the Encino neighborhood.
Dolores Mission, Los Angeles is a Catholic parish in the largely Hispanic area of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles. The parish has collaborated in various grassroots initiatives to combat adverse social conditions in the area, including Homeboy Industries, Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission, CHIRLA, and the East Los Angeles Housing Coalition.
Kevin LeVar is an American musician from the Washington metropolitan area.
Michael K. Clifford is an American education investor and consultant, and a proponent of education.
The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) theatre company based in Los Angeles, California, that stages outdoor and indoor Shakespeare plays and produces the Simply Shakespeare series of benefit readings around Los Angeles. The Center also provides arts-based opportunities for veterans and at-risk youth.