United Way: Void left by Cape Area Family Resource Center will be filled

As the Cape Area Family Resource Center moves to close its doors, ending 14 years of service to impoverished residents in South Cape, officials with the United Way say there will not be a disruption of programs to the people the center serves -- particularly the south side's children.

"There will be programs. Those kids still will be served," John McGowan, United Way of Southeast Missouri director of community impact, said of the after-school initiatives and the popular summer camp the agency underwrites. "The money we have set aside for the Family Resource Center to run those programs will be unutilized and it will be in South Cape."

But it will more than likely be managed through a different organization -- or a combination therein -- and the suite of human services will be conducted at a different location.

The Cape Area Family Resource Center board of directors on Friday posted an advertisement promoting the sale of its building at 1202 S. Sprigg St. Interested parties are asked to submit a bid to John Heisserer, P.O. Box 1568, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702-1568, on or before June 20. The worn, three-level property, originally built as a church in 1941, was a big factor in the organization's decision to shut down its operations.

In a news release Tuesday, the board said it "made this difficult decision" to close the center by mid-July "after efforts to raise local support funds [have] fallen short of expenses for further operation."

The property isn't accessible to the disabled, and bringing it up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards would cost about $100,000, according to board member Kevin Sexton. The cost of utilities alone runs about $1,000 a month, he said. Landing critical grant money was becoming increasingly difficult because of the structure's ADA issues.

McGowan said the United Way provides about $50,000 in funding annually to the resource center and that those funds will remain intact. While he declined to release the names of potential players, McGowan said there are a number of options being discussed to maintain the center's programs in South Cape.

"An organization that has a similar mission that the Family Resource Center has would absorb what remains of the [center], or consolidate, and offer programs in South Cape that it didn't before because the center was there," he said.

A new provider could offer similar programs at the city's new Shawnee Park Center, a solution that carries the probability of retaining the resource center's staff, including interim director Pat King, who many say is responsible for building relationships in the neighborhood.

A third option includes an educational institution, currently without a Cape Girardeau presence, providing outreach programs, McGowan said.

Another possibility, according McGowan, could be merging the resource center summer camp with the existing Salvation Army camp, with additional funding and staffing.

Who takes over the senior citizen portion of the center's services remains unclear.

McGowan said the hope is to announce some kind of plan at the community celebration for the center, slated for 6 p.m. June 21.

"We don't want South Cape to feel like they're being abandoned -- again," said United Way of Southeast Missouri executive director Nancy Jernigan.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1202 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO