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Service Center receives $700,000 grant

Augusta Chronicle - 12/14/2018

Dec. 13--Changes are coming to the Service Center in Louisville; and, the changes are for the better. The building on Clarks Mill Road has been the mainstay for those people in Jefferson County who have an intellectual or development disability. Staff at the center help clients learn skills and activities so they can become as independent as possible.

The center, which was built decades ago, has several issues, including being out of compliance with current building codes. And now, with a grant of $720,280, the county will be able to address the problems the center has.

In a request for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Jefferson County Commission Chairman Mitchell McGraw stated the county will provide a total of more than $51,000 in cash match and leverage. The county will use the funds to assist in paying for the rehabilitation of the county's 8,700-square-foot service center built in 1986. The total cost is $772,085.

McGraw states in his letter the project is direly needed and will upgrade the center to code-compliant standards. The chairman said the grant will "enable the 43 adult clients to meet work activity goals in an accessible, code compliant and secure environment."

The DCA set a grant period of Oct. 10, 2018, to Oct. 10, 2020. The agency also specifies about 10 conditions the county must follow in order to properly administer the grant, including adhering to the Code of Ethics for Government Service. The contract with DCA also states that if any directive of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must be followed so the county is in compliance.

County Administrator Adam Brett said the building is out of compliance on fire codes and has handicap bathroom issues.

"The building itself, we have not done anything to change the layout of the building to meet the needs of the clients as the clients have aged," he said. "What we have are older clients who need handrails on the walls. It needs to meet the needs of the clients."

In a letter of support for the grant, the center's director Teresa Irby stated there are individuals who currently attend the center who have been attending since the center first opened in the 1970s. At that time, the center was housed in a county building that had been condemned. The center's current age requirement for the program ranges from 18 to until the individual is no longer physically able to attend the center. At this time, the center serves 43 individuals.

"Many of those we serve have different needs that our building's current structure is unable to accommodate," she said.

One item Irby mentioned was the need for better security features. Anyone can walk into the center now.

Because of the different shootings that have occurred around the country, Irby said implementing a secure access to the building would benefit the staff and individuals.

"We've provided services since 1971; and, we serve individuals from Jefferson and Glascock counties. They have to be at least 18 years old, completed their curriculum high school, they must have a diagnosis of intellectual or development disability prior to age 18," said Donna Miller, intellectual/developmental disability director.

Anyone who's interested or who needs services should come by the center on Clarks Mill Road in Louisville to apply to attend the center.

"It's a long process. Georgia has a long waiting list of individuals who need these types of services. We'll assist with the application and explain the process," Miller said.

The center was built with a CDBG 42 years ago; and, now there are issues meeting standard building codes.

"Structurally, I think the building is sound. The county has done an amazing job," she said and added the grant writer, Anne Floyd with DCA, said the expectation for the life of a building is 20 years.

"We provide an array of services. We provide opportunities for community activities, work experience for those who want to work and have a job, prevocational training. We help individuals get their own apartment if they're able to live on their own," Miller said. Staff is still available to assist the individuals once they're in their own apartment.

"One of our primary goals now is what we call community integration," Miller said and explained individuals who attend the service center want to do the things anyone else does, get their hair done, go to a ball game.

"We're all people," she said. "We provide staff that actually go with our individuals. We want to offer them the same opportunities anybody else has."

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