The Infant Welfare Society sponsored a visiting nurse program to care for slum children. Seen here is a visiting nurse in a settlement house. instructing a group of children about proper nutrition. A settlement house, sometimes also called a community or neighborhood center, is a neighborhood-based organization that provides services and activities designed to identify and reinforce the strengths of individuals, families and communities. Varying according to the needs of their neighborhoods, settlement programs may include: job training and employment programs, early childhood education, literacy education, citizenship instruction and legal counseling, mental health and home care.