Ours is an unusual beginning. The establishment of the Franklin Center of Beaver County was spurred by a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work by the late Professor James V. Cunningham and seven graduate students. The study explored the impact of the continuing decline of the steel industry on typical steel towns. The city of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where our organization would be ultimately located, was primarily a one-industry town that was included in the study.