If Donna McLaughlin has her way, the impoverished Blackmon Road community will have a "sanctuary" where residents could go for everything from job training to drug and alcohol counseling.

The Tega Cay resident decided she wanted to help the residents of the area after reading of their plight in The Herald.

"I had never seen anything of that magnitude in a city ... close to so much prosperity," said McLaughlin, 49, who works in human resources for a Pineville, N.C., engineering firm.

For decades, Blackmon Road has been a magnet for York County's poor. About 30 families live in the neighborhood, which lies at the end of a dirt road off S.C. 72, less than two miles from downtown Rock Hill. Many residents are squatters who live in crumbling shacks or old school buses with no indoor plumbing or electricity.

In the past two years, a number of private individuals and groups have tried to help help the neighborhood. Westminster Presbyterian Church has organized cleanups, winter goods collections and holiday meal deliveries.

After reading about the church's efforts to build a care center, McLaughlin got to thinking about a vacant double-wide mobile home sitting behind a Pineville veterinarian clinic, where her husband, Charles, is a managing partner.

Employees of the Total Bond Veterinarian Hospital at Carmel, off N.C. 51, had been using the 2,100-square-foot modular unit as a temporary clinic while their new building was being constructed. After the new clinic opened, the board planned to sell the trailer. But then McLaughlin suggested that they donate it to Blackmon Road, where it could be used as a temporary care center. And the board decided to take her up on the idea.

McLaughlin envisions transforming the mobile home into a place offering residents services such as child care, drug and alcohol counseling, medical services and job training. She even has a name for the proposed center: the Hope Sanctuary, named after Blackmon Road resident Hope Whitlock - known as the matriarch of the community.

McLaughlin said she's heard from a number of people who would be willing to volunteer services or donate goods or equipment for the cause. One woman even said she'd help take care of the community's animals. And the Rev. Danny Walker, a Black-mon Road resident who ministers to the community, has agreed to serve as caretaker of the building.

"Man, this thing is huge," said Walker, visiting the trailer for the first time last week. As he and McLaughlin toured the mobile home, they peeked into different rooms and pictured future uses - a kitchen, classrooms, storage space.

Still, McLaughlin and her supporters face a number of hurdles before the care center can become a reality.

Two immediate challenges are raising money to transport the trailer and finding a place to put it. Making things more difficult, the town of Pineville may require that the building moved by Dec. 31 - although town officials may be willing to grant an extension, McLaugh- lin said.

Moving the double-wide could cost thousands of dollars, she said, adding that she's hopeful that some of the moving services could be donated.

Land a tricky issue

Finding usable land in the Blackmon Road also could be tough, because of complicated property ownership issues. The neighborhood, comprised of Blackmon Road, Joe Louis Boulevard and Archer Drive, consists of more than 200 parcels of land, many with out-of-state, or absentee, owners.

Walker has been trying to help McLaughlin find land. After some legwork, he tracked down a neighborhood resident who may be willing to lease some of her property for the project. But the tract needs improvements. If McLaughlin and her team could work out a deal with the land owner, they would still have to clear the terrain and knock down a vacant shanty.

"I'm trying not to get too anxious about it," McLaughlin said. "The biggest enemy right now is time."

Many others who have gone before know of the challenges and frustrations that come with trying to help the Blackmon Road community.

"There's all kinds of issues," said Dick Spatola, director of outreach and discipleship at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Spatola and other church members have been working on plans to build a permanent, 7,000-square-foot care center for the neighborhood. The church already runs a center on nearby U.S. 21, but it suffers from a lack of space.

Spatola's group gave up on the idea of trying to locate a center in the neighborhood, because of poor soil conditions and a lack of water and sewer connections. Instead, they are looking for one or two acres in the vicinity of Blackmon Road. "That's what we really need," Spatola said.

Tough road ahead

While not wanting to discourage McLaughlin's efforts, Spatola cautioned that she has a tough road ahead of her. Even if she finds a spot in the community to put the trailer, he said, she'll have to contend with the same things his group has dealt with, such as getting electricity, water and sewer - all of which will require permits. And then, he added, there's the big question of who will pay for everything.

"It's not simple," he said. "If they make it happen, that's great."

McLaughlin remains optimistic, adding that she has a stubborn side and a will to get things done.

"We know this won't take place of the wonderful care center that Westminster has planned," she said. "I'm sure there are a lot of challenges ahead for me. I'm trying to prepare the best I can."

Contact Caroline Brustad at 329-4082 or cbrustad@heraldonline.com.

Employees of the Total Bond Veterinarian Hospital at Carmel, off N.C. 51, had been using the 2,100-square-foot modular unit as a temporary clinic while their new building was being constructed. After the new clinic opened, the board planned to sell the trailer. But then [Donna McLaughlin] suggested that they donate it to Blackmon Road, where it could be used as a temporary care center. And the board decided to take her up on the idea.

McLaughlin envisions transforming the mobile home into a place offering residents services such as child care, drug and alcohol counseling, medical services and job training. She even has a name for the proposed center: the Hope Sanctuary, named after Blackmon Road resident Hope Whitlock - known as the matriarch of the community.

Finding usable land in the Blackmon Road also could be tough, because of complicated property ownership issues. The neighborhood, comprised of Blackmon Road, Joe Louis Boulevard and Archer Drive, consists of more than 200 parcels of land, many with out-of-state, or absentee, owners.