Ellis Jones’ children were the first people in his family to come to the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, introduced last year through a youth program during spring break.

Since then, the nonprofit agency has provided activities to benefit his entire family, Mr. Jones said.

“I’m happy that they included me. I tell my kids to go to college, but I want to better myself, too,” said Mr. Jones, a public housing resident who has been taking typing and computer classes at the agency for about a month.

He is among the first Urban League clients to participate in the agency’s Family Empowerment Campaign that started in April. The campaign marks the first time in its 25-year history that the league has reached out to entire families rather than individuals.

Urban League President Warren Logan said the organization helps anyone who comes to it for service, he said, but officials are concerned that, after more than two decades, blacks remain economically and academically behind the area’s majority population.

“All the data we looked at indicated that the African-American community was less empowered than anyone else,” Mr. Logan said.

Twenty-two percent of black children in Hamilton County still test below proficiency in math, 21 percent are below proficiency in reading, and the unemployment rate for black men is almost double the rate for other Hamilton County residents, Mr. Logan said.

By assisting a client’s entire family, Urban League officials hope they can make more of an impact, he said.

“The whole idea is that, if you just service a person and you put that person back in the same environment, the likelihood of that person returning to old ways is great,” he said. “Whereas, if you deal with the family as a unit, then the likelihood of them returning to old ways is reduced significantly.”

Urban League officials said they will economically empower families by focusing on education, financial stability, work force development and health and wellness.

When the Urban League is dealing with a child, Mr. Logan said, officials will contact his family and determine if the parents are employed in a livable-wage job, if they have decent and affordable housing and if they have any personal health issues.

Mr. Jones and five of his children will attend a financial-management class at the Urban League on Tuesday. The class is free and open to youths and adults.

“We’re showing people how to build family wealth,” said Karlene Claridy, president of Claridy Communications, which handles publicity for the Urban League. “There’ll be something the whole family can take away from this event.”

The Urban League seeks to establish partnerships with health care and housing officials and increase memberships to provide the services, they said.

Gary Kelley, director of resident services at the Chattanooga Housing Authority, said the Urban League has been helpful to CHA in the past by participating in job fairs and even hiring a participant. Housing officials said they look forward to working together again.

“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss a partnership,” Mr. Kelley said.

Urban League officials said they have established partnerships with schoolteachers and principals to help families meet academic goals.

“We can’t do this by ourselves,” Mr. Logan said. “We are assembling partners to get this done. We’re trying to make sure that as a community of people, we share in the responsibility.”

IF YOU GO

The Urban League’s family financial management workshop will be from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Urban League offices at 730 E. M.L. King Blvd. The entire family, from elementary school students to adults, is encouraged to attend. For more information, call the Urban League at 756-1762.