Fresh Face: DIVE

Jason McKinney has always had a heart for Lancaster’s most vulnerable. During his nine-year career at Water Street Mission’s Teen Haven, Jason and his wife welcomed 15 displaced kids to live in their home over the years. Through this work, Jason saw people who wanted to change their lives but lacked the resources and stability necessary to make sustainable change.

“I also started looking around the neighborhood and seeing other people who wanted to change their lives and didn’t know where to go,” Jason said.

In 2019, Jason and his wife purchased a house on Green Street in Lancaster’s Southeast and transformed it into DIVE, a residential housing program for men in need of a fresh start. With life skills training, financial counseling, job search assistance, and convenient access to other local nonprofits, the residential home offers a place of stability for residents.

Now with two locations in Lancaster City, Jason hopes to use DIVE to meet people where they are and journey with them as they overcome significant obstacles.

“We all need help,” Jason said. “It’s okay to humble yourself and say, ‘you know what, I need help in these areas.’”

As a person of faith, Jason says a fundamental part of his vision is to create a culture of belonging among residents, providing a place where they can connect with God and one another, and he believes this starts with restoring a positive sense of self.

“It’s about learning who you really are, not who the world has told you that you are or what your background says you are,” he said. “But learning who God has called you to be and how to be victorious.”

Learn how you can partner with DIVE at diveinc.org.