LaTonia Edwards was a single mom, pregnant with her fourth child -- a high school dropout, haunted by life's missed opportunities.

Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Terri Baltimore, right, a program coordinator at the Hill House Association in the Hill District, chats with camper Tayler Harris, 9, yesterday during a summer camp for the arts. Baltimore has been working at the center since 1992. Click photo for larger image. Anniversary events planned The Hill House is celebrating 40 years of service with three months of community celebrations, jazz events, educational workshops and a gala in October. The event schedule: Saturday: A community festival at the Hill House, 1835 Centre Ave., Hill District, with arts, games, performances. From noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 14: Jazz Concert at Dowe's on 9th, to benefit James Henry Scholarship, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 27: A weeklong workshop series kicks off that includes tours of the Hill House campus; a financial literacy workshop; the collection of oral histories of people impacted by Hill House services; and ends with a two-day celebration where local artists share poems, photos and art of the Hill. Oct. 20: Anniversary Gala at the Carnegie Science Center, North Side. A PNC Bank grant supports the anniversary celebrations as well as a Head Start program, which is beginning at Hill House. For more information, call Tiffanie Williams at 412- 392-4404.

I n the summer of 1995, she was determined to make a new life, so she slipped on her heels and a cute outfit and walked into the Hill House Association.

Edwards grew up in the Hill and had heard rumors about a place that locals called a dream factory, a social services program deeply rooted in the heart of the Hill District. She went there to find her dream.

She's one of a million souls, by most accounts, who have walked through the doors of the Hill House Association, which, as of today, begins celebrations for aiding people just like her for 40 years.

In its four decades, the Hill House has helped people to find jobs, own homes and locate college scholarships and has guided young parents toward healthier relationships.

At the helm is former banking executive Evan Frazier. He follows in the footsteps of the personable James Henry, who until his death last summer, ran the place for more than three of those decades.

Frazier's father, a former Hill District resident, took his young son to meetings and other events at the Hill House.

At the organization for less than a year, Frazier says he's determined to "continue the tradition of Henry, while staying relevant to changing needs and building quality models for each program." He also wants to get out the message that the Hill House serves the region and not just the Hill District.

Edward's story is just one of those worth writing about.

"I got excellent skills," said a beaming, confident Edwards, who today owns her own home and works as a clerical assistant at the Hill House. "They taught me to dress for success, budget money, and interviewing skills."

Edwards was a shy girl when she first walked into the Hill House. Though she was almost 20, she had never been taught the etiquette of a proper handshake.

"Now," she laughed, "they have to tell me to loosen up because I shake so hard."

For generations, the Hill House has been a common thread in the patchwork of life on the Hill. It first set up shop there in 1964.

Since then, its budget has grown to $5 million, which covers 120 employees and provides a quilt of services that aid the poor, the unemployed and those set on helping themselves. More than 62 private, social and arts services operate out of its four facilities in the Hill.

Through Hill District decay and renewal, the Hill House has been a steady presence. If you lived or had family in the Hill, the institution was a part of your life.

The memories flow from administrators at the organization. Marvin Prentice, associate director, Tony Bell, program director, and Ed Jackson, technology coordinator and also director of male mentoring group, all grew up in the Hill. They remember skating parties, boxing clubs, wrestling matches and Halloween outings organized by Hill House. They recall the camaraderie and mentors at the Hill House who cared for them and taught them values and how to work hard.

"We each come from different eras," said Jackson, now in his 40s, whose first memory of the Hill House is when his grandmother dragged him upstairs at the Kaufmann settlement center to have his school vaccination. "And we have different stories, but the Hill House transcended all our lives."

According to Frazier, the Hill House will continue to adjust to meet basic human needs: employment, child care and education, including an expanded summer camp that embraces more than 280 children.

The organization is challenged by the grit of urban life, where dreams are the only things that seem to die quicker than young black men.

We're challenged, said Bell, by the attitudes and fear of youths who think they'll be shot.

In response, the Hill House has developed programming to reach out to young men and women to offer General Educational Development classes, build better parenting skills, and provide job training and placement.

But it's not all nuts-and-bolts social programming. There is a good dose of the arts as well, a move to offer more inspirational and preventive programming for youth.

Terri Baltimore first went to the Hill House in 1977 as a student intern with the Urban League of Pittsburgh. She finished college at Duquesne University and went back to the association to work in case management. She lives in Wilkinsburg, but feels in her heart that the Hill and the Hill House are her home.

As the Hill House celebrates its 40th anniversary, she's poised to usher in a new arts program, which debuted this summer -- teaching children spoken word poetry, dance, quilt-making and other creative pursuits.

"I have to show them that art is a part of lives," she said, "that the Hill House is the coolest place to be."