Rebirth of renewal

Saying the Cape Area Family Resource Center works because of its grass-roots partnerships takes on greater significance when community volunteers join forces to plant flower beds, level a lawn and repair a drainage problem around the building's foundation.

Friday afternoon, members of the South Side Optimist Club gathered at the center, situated on the corner of Hickory and Sprigg streets, to work on the exterior and lawn, beautifying the space for the neighborhood.

Children played in the dirt, planting a flat of begonias in varying shades of white, pink and red.

Twins Lashawnda and Lawanda Dodds, 16, usually come to the after-school program to help younger children with homework or computer skills. On Friday, they went to work planting the flowers.

"It's just going to make it better," Lashawnda said of the garden plots.

"It's for the best, and change is good," said her sister, Lawanda.

The new landscape is just one aspect of the changes happening at the Family Resource Center, which is under new management and has a renewed vision.

The center started nearly 10 years ago as a place that would provide essential services to a geographic and economic segment of the community that needed a boost. The original goal was to offer health-care services, medical screenings, and space for agencies that serve the community.

"We're not creating anything new," said manager Denise Lincoln. "We provide a second location for programs that already exist to meet the needs of this part of town."

But over the years, the board and center have drifted somewhat from that original intent as programs and activities took on more importance.

Now the center is coming back to its roots but not without some challenges.

The building that houses the Family Resource Center is 65 years old and in need of major repairs. Now that the day-to-day operations are being handled, the board can put an emphasis on finding funding sources that will allow the programs to continue and the center to remain open.

"We're not in this to make money, but we need enough money to keep the doors open," board member Steve Williams said.

The center operates on a shoestring budget. There's about $20,000 left in the bank from a previous grant program. That money will pay the bills and keep the center open until any new money comes in.

The board is hoping the center will be selected for a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The grant would allow remodeling for handicap accessibility and other improvements as well as offering health-care screenings on site. The grant awards are announced in May.

Until then, Lincoln is working to establish an advisory council for the Family Resource Center that would help identify needs in the community, serve as a clearinghouse for how the building is to be used by the neighborhood and to spread word about programs offered at the center.

One for all

Marvin McBride, president of the South Side Optimist Club, worked on leveling a patch of the front lawn and adding the excess dirt to the low areas where water runoff is a problem.

As he worked, he talked about the need for everyone in the neighborhood to help clean up the South Side and work in the community. "People just need to have an opportunity to get involved and the knowledge of the programs," he said.

"All of us need to get involved," he added. "If you don't take pride in your community how can you expect someone else to?"

Lincoln, who was hired in late January to manage the center, has tried to make the building something the community could be proud to have.

She's trying to find agencies to locate an office in the space, talking to community leaders about joining an advisory council for the center and started an after-school program for children. One agency for people with depression and bipolar disorders and a Narcotics Anonymous support group already use the space regularly.

But Lincoln's dreams are bigger than just what's happening now. She would like to see more space for teenagers to use and programs that grab their interest. She wants something that would attract entire families to use the facilities.

Over the years, it's been the work of one woman, Rhoda Riley, who kept the center running. "It's just her bulldog determination that it's still here," Lincoln said. Riley still runs the center during the mornings.

Much of what Riley did when there wasn't a director or manager at the center has laid the foundation for how the center operates daily now. There are weekday meetings for seniors with regularly scheduled guests who address questions about paperwork, health concerns or other topics. A ladies quilting group also meets regularly. In the afternoons, students come for tutoring and games.

"I didn't even realize there were this many programs until I got involved," McBride said.

On Friday, McBride saw evidence of how the programs work as children worked in their new Cheer Garden. The garden, planted near the building's back doors, was designed to bring a bit of brightness to the plot, but also to teach ongoing responsibility and care, Lincoln said.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126