New Combined Community Services Facility Opens Thursday
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
The facility will open at 1195 Mariner Drive, Warsaw, Thursday. It is west of North Pointe Cinemas.
CCS previously was at 110 E. Prairie St.
Construction on the new 12,500-square-foot facility began in July. The cost of the project is $1.3 million, according to Stephen Possell, CCS executive director.
Possell emphasized that no tax dollars were used to fund the construction. The funding came from community donors.
Construction ended two weeks ago on the facility. Robinson Construction Company served as the contractor for the project.
Possell said CCS’s goal is to help its clients become self sufficient.
“I hope clients who visit the new facility come away with hope,” Possell said. “I think people may come in here feeling beat up by the world, and we want to be able to restore some hope in their lives and work on their basic needs and help them become self sufficient.”
Possell said there was a need to build a new facility because the need for services has increased, and the 35-year-old pole barn the current CCS is located in has deteriorated.
The new facility features offices for emergency and utility services and the energy assistance program.
There also is a food pantry and a clothing pantry that will serve clients.
There are offices for self-sufficiency programs such as the Hand Up Program and Project Independence.
There is an office for counseling services, a chapel and a training room where classes on parenting, bullying and financial management also are offered.
The community will have the opportunity to rent out the training room.
There is a room with laptop computers for clients to use for job searches, and there are books in the room for clients.
“In the new facility we will be able to serve twice the amount of people with the food and clothing pantries,” Possell said.
Peggi Lisenbee-Wright, CCS director of client assistance, said the Prairie Street CCS location has existed for the past 15 years.
Lisenbee-Wright said when she first started at CCS in 1999, there were 129 families who were served per month for food services.
Possell said CCS currently serves 540 families per month in its food pantry.
“We want to move to a client shopping system where clients can pick out what they need,” Possell said.
Lisenbee-Wright said family sizes are larger because of the economy. The average family size CCS previously served was 2.5, but now is 4.5.
She said the economy and food costs have contributed to the increased need for services at CCS.
“We have a wonderfully generous community but many people have lost jobs and moved back in with their family so it’s not uncommon for us to get a food order for seven or nine people,” Lisenbee-Wright said.
Business hours at the new location are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. CCS is closed Saturdays and Sundays.
The phone number is 574-269-6019.
Follow Jennifer Peryam on Twitter at TUNews_Peryam[[In-content Ad]]
The facility will open at 1195 Mariner Drive, Warsaw, Thursday. It is west of North Pointe Cinemas.
CCS previously was at 110 E. Prairie St.
Construction on the new 12,500-square-foot facility began in July. The cost of the project is $1.3 million, according to Stephen Possell, CCS executive director.
Possell emphasized that no tax dollars were used to fund the construction. The funding came from community donors.
Construction ended two weeks ago on the facility. Robinson Construction Company served as the contractor for the project.
Possell said CCS’s goal is to help its clients become self sufficient.
“I hope clients who visit the new facility come away with hope,” Possell said. “I think people may come in here feeling beat up by the world, and we want to be able to restore some hope in their lives and work on their basic needs and help them become self sufficient.”
Possell said there was a need to build a new facility because the need for services has increased, and the 35-year-old pole barn the current CCS is located in has deteriorated.
The new facility features offices for emergency and utility services and the energy assistance program.
There also is a food pantry and a clothing pantry that will serve clients.
There are offices for self-sufficiency programs such as the Hand Up Program and Project Independence.
There is an office for counseling services, a chapel and a training room where classes on parenting, bullying and financial management also are offered.
The community will have the opportunity to rent out the training room.
There is a room with laptop computers for clients to use for job searches, and there are books in the room for clients.
“In the new facility we will be able to serve twice the amount of people with the food and clothing pantries,” Possell said.
Peggi Lisenbee-Wright, CCS director of client assistance, said the Prairie Street CCS location has existed for the past 15 years.
Lisenbee-Wright said when she first started at CCS in 1999, there were 129 families who were served per month for food services.
Possell said CCS currently serves 540 families per month in its food pantry.
“We want to move to a client shopping system where clients can pick out what they need,” Possell said.
Lisenbee-Wright said family sizes are larger because of the economy. The average family size CCS previously served was 2.5, but now is 4.5.
She said the economy and food costs have contributed to the increased need for services at CCS.
“We have a wonderfully generous community but many people have lost jobs and moved back in with their family so it’s not uncommon for us to get a food order for seven or nine people,” Lisenbee-Wright said.
Business hours at the new location are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. CCS is closed Saturdays and Sundays.
The phone number is 574-269-6019.
Follow Jennifer Peryam on Twitter at TUNews_Peryam[[In-content Ad]]
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