A spacious mobile office building that once housed a veterinarian clinic is a step closer to being used to help the neighbors of impoverished Blackmon Road.
Volunteers recently moved the 2,100-square-foot building onto a donated plot of land in the Blackmon Road community off S.C. 72 near Rock Hill. The office eventually will be transformed into A Place for Hope, a community center offering a variety of services, including tutoring, drug and alcohol counseling, career counseling and Bible study classes. Organizers hope to open the center by June 1.
Strolling through the reassembled building, A Place for Hope founder Donna McLaughlin envisioned how the different rooms could be used for future clients.
An old laboratory with sinks and cupboards may become a dining area, where visitors can enjoy bag lunches. A former X-ray room might be a good spot for shower stalls. Examination rooms will be designated as computer labs or children's play areas. Other alcoves could be offered such as satellite offices for local health and human service agencies.
Some vacant land next to the building likely will become the site for basketball courts and a playground.
"It's for the whole community," said McLaughlin, a Tega Cay resident who works at a Pineville, N.C., engineering firm.
While relocating the massive building was a major step forward, organizers still have several hurdles to overcome before the center can open its doors.
One of the main challenges will be getting the building hooked up to utilities such as water and electricity.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control recently gave the project the go-ahead to install a water and septic system. Now, organizers need to find money to pay for the installation, which McLaughlin estimates will cost about $5,000.
They also need to find more volunteers to staff the center once it is up and running.
McLaughlin and other organizers hope they continue to benefit from the generosity of others.
Many individuals and businesses have pitched in to help get the project off the ground, donating both time and equipment. York County waived building and permitting fees and provided services like hauling debris away from the site. Others have donated items for the center, like computers and educational materials.
Despite the outpouring of support, there has been some opposition to the project. "There's a lot of people who don't want me here," McLaughlin said. She most of the negative feedback has been from people who don't live in the community.
But overall, she said, "the good outweighs the bad."
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.
A number of private individuals, churches and agencies have tried over the years to help the neighborhood, organizing cleanups, winter goods collections and meals.
Contact Caroline Brustad at 329-4082 or cbrustad@heraldonline.com.
For more information on the "A Place for Hope" project, visit www.aplaceforhope.net or call Donna McLauglin at 547-7472.
A spacious mobile office building that once housed a veterinarian clinic is a step closer to being used to help the neighbors of impoverished Blackmon Road.
Volunteers recently moved the 2,100-square-foot building onto a donated plot of land in the Blackmon Road community off S.C. 72 near Rock Hill. The office eventually will be transformed into A Place for Hope, a community center offering a variety of services, including tutoring, drug and alcohol counseling, career counseling and Bible study classes. Organizers hope to open the center by June 1.
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.