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Home My WebLink About06-11-2007 City to support expansion of Monroe Circle effort o�sou Tx F dx :J b W eFacE � � y� a 1, a2 1865 Office of the Mayor NEWS RELEASE June 11, 2007 10 a.m. City to support expansion of Monroe Circle effort Contact: Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications&Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876- 1564, or Jeff Gibney, Interim Director of Community and Economic Development, 235-9375, or Dan Blacketor, President of the Board of Directors for EnterMission Inc., 532-6323 A food pantry and cafe on the 500 block of Western Avenue will take a big step with help from the City of South Bend toward becoming a dynamic neighborhood outreach center for under-served families on the near west side. The South Bend Common Council will consider a staff recommendation today(Monday, June 11, 2007)to allocate $100,000 to support a$750,000 expansion and renovation of the Monroe Circle Community Center, at the southeast corner of Western Avenue and Taylor Street. "The City of South Bend is pleased to be a partner with Granger Community Church and EnterMission Inc. in helping to create a brighter future for our residents," said South Bend Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. "The Monroe Circle Community Center is east of 75 percent of the city's public-housing units. The forthcoming Salvation Army Kroc Center will be just to the west. Between these two faith-based initiatives, I'm confident that no other city will exceed South Bend's effort to give these west-side residents a hand up from poverty." EnterMission Inc., a community development corporation, plans a capital campaign to renovate the center and expand its community outreach. By this fall, the community center will include The Crossings Alternative High School, after-school tutoring and mentoring, GED classes and life-skills training, the Coffee House Connection Cafe, and a Health & Wellness Referral Center. When fully completed by spring 2008, the center will feature an Arts & Vocational Training Center. "Monroe Circle is a great low-income housing community. But it's our belief it doesn't have to be generational," said Dan Blacketor, president of EnterMission Inc. "What we're . } � � � � » x ��ƒ; �� { �\� ��1 . . . : K \ . <d. / > .�y . �y . . � \ . . m � ) ! »{�� y ��< © ; ? � � \ \ � � /\? \ � � ?� r � � � ° ) : � �_ /\� { : w\ . �rw \\ K§ � °»\ ; \ » �» « ~ / /f�\\ ��\ � �\� r�d\ � . . . @ . � 2 \ \ \ �> � c � � ~ @ . . � �.\ ] z / � . \ >m«< « . wz : + � « � : ° ��y � : :_< : � ^� - - c \ \ � ��\ /��} �/� �) E � . + . . � E w<�� ^ >w : � o y � � j \ . U ��\�R � � � ��\ ( ��\ \ �� ` � � �\� ^ � �` � � � � � � �� . < . , � @ �� \ \\ \ \� o ��»v . : � . < '� � d` 2 � \ c � - « ! � . o < + T � �� \ � � � � \ \. \ \ } d ` � \ � § j � � �� . . . z y� .:� ® _�: « . «��/. trying to do is create links so they can pull themselves out of poverty. EnterMission is working with Granger Community Church, 630 E. University Drive, Granger, a 7,000-member United Methodist megachurch whose members since March 2006 have donated hundreds of hours to renovate the facility in addition to support from skilled professionals. Granger Community Church decided to focus its local ministry "like a laser" by concentrating 70 percent of its resources in one location: Monroe Circle. Five years ago, members began outreach programs for children, volunteered for existing neighborhood programs and met community residents. The church in 2005 assumed operations of the former Ko-op 65 food pantry, 526 W. Western Ave., and expanded it to include a cafe, which is operated in partnership with Feed the Children, Panera Bread and Breadsmith Bakeries. EnterMission was formed in fall 2006, and all properties were transferred to its ownership and control. The Monroe Circle Community Center, also known as MC3, now features a food pantry and cafe at 526 W. Western Ave., where it succeeded the former Ko-op 65. Each Tuesday morning, between 300 and 350 families living in the 46601 ZIP code receive a box of food, compared with an average of 65 to 70 families served previously by Ko-op 65, which focused on residents age 65 and up. MC3 is located near the South Bend Housing Authority's Monroe Circle housing complex, where nearly 500 families live with an average annual income of about $7,300 per family. Some 70 percent of households are headed by a single parent or grandparent, while only 25 percent of children who live in the neighborhood now graduate from high school, according to EnterMission's proposal. "We believe life change and transformation happens when people first build relationships with each other," according to EnterMission's funding proposal. "Only then will someone be given the permission to speak truth into someone's life about choices and change, be able to tutor and mentor them through the challenges and struggles, and help lead them to a point of self-sufficiency." Half of the city's support will come from Community Development Block Grant funds for the purchase of properties at 516 and 518 W. Western Ave., while the remaining funds are from the Western Avenue Commercial Corridor initiative. The funding will help historically restore and renovate a block of buildings built in the early 1900s into a community center equipped with 21"-century technology. The group previously was awarded $16,500 from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County to begin clean up and renovation of the property. The MC3 complex consists of the former Ko-op 65, 526 W. Western Ave.; the former Erskine's Convenient Store, 520 W. Western Ave., and the former Dee Ken's Liquor Store and Tavern, 516/518 W. Western Ave. EnterMission also owns the parking lot between the group of buildings at Sweet Home Baptist Church, 410 S. Taylor St. Although staff will direct the facility, the church is expected to provide enough volunteers to staff more than 200 two-to-three-hour slots each week. In addition, nearly 30 organizations are committed as partners in the project, providing volunteer labor or in- 2 kind gifts. EnterMission Inc. expects to complete the exterior renovation by September. The proposed Vocational and Arts Center (at 516/518 W. Western Ave.) is scheduled for completion in spring 2008. The Crossings, an alternative high school, expects to have between 35 and 50 students enrolled by late August. "Our vision is to build leadership within [the Monroe Circle] community so that in somewhere between 10 to 15 years, we'll be able to pass over the leadership to people within the community to operate," Blacketor said. - 30 - 3