Enchanted Hills Outreach Builds Community
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Daniel [email protected]
In 2005, the Bowen Center opened the Enchanted Hills Community Center after seeing that 90 percent of people who visited the Bowen Center's Syracuse office were from the Enchanted Hills area, especially Fascination Place.[[In-content Ad]]Located just minutes from the wealthy neighborhoods of Lake Wawasee with million-dollar lakefront homes, Fascination Place serves as an area comprised mainly of low-income family housing.
Fairly secluded from the rest of the county, there are no stores or shops located within a reasonable walking distance.
The community center started as a place to help kids with homework and give them a place to go after school while their parents were at work. Now it's become the heart of a community looking to fulfill its promise.
There are after-school programs like there were in the beginning.
Bruce Cavell is the program manager for Enchanted Hills, and with his staff and the generosity of local businesses and foundations, he has turned the community center into a much bigger venture.
Things that positively affect a community and change its dynamic are now in place.
"We live in a great county, and thanks to the generosity of the groups and organizations here, we're able to provide services," said Cavell.
There are the Sea Scouts, Girl Scouts and youth soccer teams for kids and teenagers. There are resources for people to apply for jobs and gain valuable skills employers look for. There are Alcoholic Anonymous meetings every Friday.
And residents of the community help run and operate the center.
There is currently a finance class being offered by Lake City Bank in which people learn basic principles of banking. From learning the difference between credit and debit cards to the dangers of predatory lending, residents are given the chance to educate themselves and gain something in the process.
The class is offered twice a week, a morning and evening session, and should someone attending the classes attend at least 80 percent of the time, they will become eligible for a loan through Lake City Bank. At least 25 to 30 people are at a given class during the week.
The center has drawn rave reviews from local clergy. Dennis L. Judy, pastor at North Webster Church of God, and Harlan Steffen, of Wawasee Lakeside Chapel, wrote letters lauding the efforts of the center.
The center was built through the financial support of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, United Way, K21 Foundation and Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson.
Cavell and his team are still looking to make improvements to the community. Transportation is often a problem for community residents, and there is an ongoing search for a van to allow for residents to take care of day-to-day needs.
There is also the hope that a law enforcement officer will move into the community at some point to allow for a police presence more often there.
Even without an officer as a resident, the center and the collective resolve of the residents to take back their community has made the area a better and safer place to live.
According to the Syracuse Police Department, crime in the Enchanted Hills has dropped significantly since the center opened.
"We saw a need and were able to meet that," said Bowen Center CEO Kurt Carlson.
Carlson said that the Bowen Center would entertain doing what they did at Enchanted Hills in other areas of the county.
In 2005, the Bowen Center opened the Enchanted Hills Community Center after seeing that 90 percent of people who visited the Bowen Center's Syracuse office were from the Enchanted Hills area, especially Fascination Place.[[In-content Ad]]Located just minutes from the wealthy neighborhoods of Lake Wawasee with million-dollar lakefront homes, Fascination Place serves as an area comprised mainly of low-income family housing.
Fairly secluded from the rest of the county, there are no stores or shops located within a reasonable walking distance.
The community center started as a place to help kids with homework and give them a place to go after school while their parents were at work. Now it's become the heart of a community looking to fulfill its promise.
There are after-school programs like there were in the beginning.
Bruce Cavell is the program manager for Enchanted Hills, and with his staff and the generosity of local businesses and foundations, he has turned the community center into a much bigger venture.
Things that positively affect a community and change its dynamic are now in place.
"We live in a great county, and thanks to the generosity of the groups and organizations here, we're able to provide services," said Cavell.
There are the Sea Scouts, Girl Scouts and youth soccer teams for kids and teenagers. There are resources for people to apply for jobs and gain valuable skills employers look for. There are Alcoholic Anonymous meetings every Friday.
And residents of the community help run and operate the center.
There is currently a finance class being offered by Lake City Bank in which people learn basic principles of banking. From learning the difference between credit and debit cards to the dangers of predatory lending, residents are given the chance to educate themselves and gain something in the process.
The class is offered twice a week, a morning and evening session, and should someone attending the classes attend at least 80 percent of the time, they will become eligible for a loan through Lake City Bank. At least 25 to 30 people are at a given class during the week.
The center has drawn rave reviews from local clergy. Dennis L. Judy, pastor at North Webster Church of God, and Harlan Steffen, of Wawasee Lakeside Chapel, wrote letters lauding the efforts of the center.
The center was built through the financial support of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, United Way, K21 Foundation and Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson.
Cavell and his team are still looking to make improvements to the community. Transportation is often a problem for community residents, and there is an ongoing search for a van to allow for residents to take care of day-to-day needs.
There is also the hope that a law enforcement officer will move into the community at some point to allow for a police presence more often there.
Even without an officer as a resident, the center and the collective resolve of the residents to take back their community has made the area a better and safer place to live.
According to the Syracuse Police Department, crime in the Enchanted Hills has dropped significantly since the center opened.
"We saw a need and were able to meet that," said Bowen Center CEO Kurt Carlson.
Carlson said that the Bowen Center would entertain doing what they did at Enchanted Hills in other areas of the county.
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