Deb Jones, executive director of ECHOS (Elizabethtown Community Housing & Outreach Services), knows that many Elizabethtown and Mount Joy area residents have been waiting for the groundbreaking that occurred at 61 E. Washington St., Elizabethtown, on Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. "It was a longtime dream of community members to have a social services agency here in Elizabethtown," said Jones. "It was decades."
That dream began to come to fruition in 2018 when United Churches Elizabethtown Area (UCEA) secured the Washington Street property, now known as Community Place on Washington (CPOW). The property formerly was a private school associated with St. Peter Catholic Church. On Sept. 11, ground was broken to expand that building to house a larger Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compliant winter shelter and enrichment services, including job skills training, career and financial counseling, and a computer lab. Currently, ECHOS, the Community Cupboard of Elizabethtown, the Clothing Barn, Elizabethtown Area Communities That Care (EACTC), and the Elizabethtown Area HUB are housed at CPOW.
Doug Lamb, UCEA chaplain, said that the organization purchased the original property with a plan to expand. "We knew that all the programs and services we wanted to provide would not fit in the existing buildings," he said, adding that UCEA was drawn to the property by the open baseball field and playground areas that were part of the campus.
The number of clients who are served by the center has grown significantly since CPOW opened. Lamb reported that the food pantry had seen a large increase in clients, serving as many as 165 families per month. Jones noted that need for the winter shelter increased by 20% last year, when the organization served more than 70 individuals. In ECHOS' past fiscal year, 800 individuals were helped. The organizations hope to have the larger winter shelter ready by January 2021.
ECHOS administers a number of programs in addition to overseeing the winter shelter, but its duties will expand when the addition is completed.
UCEA will have charge of the common areas of the building. "(UCEA) will be overseeing the reception area and training room," reported Lamb. The rest will allow ECHOS to provide more services for area families.
"It will expand our ECHOS offices and provide for enrichment services," said Jones, noting that the focus will be on services related to education and providing avenues to seek jobs. Specifically, a computer lab with free online training will be on-site. "We have partnered with PA CareerLink for certification courses, and there will be a bilingual career navigator," reported Jones. Budgeting workshops, community education workshops, and a mentoring program are also planned. "We will be able to meet physical needs by connecting people to other agencies that provide short-term services," said Jones. "This is all about moving a family forward through their crisis from surviving to thriving."
Jones added that expanding the winter shelter will be a key to helping families move forward successfully. "We know individuals who are at risk who cannot stabilize in their homes," she said. "We provide a winter shelter and a dedicated staff member to work with families to navigate them through the system to get them the resources and support that they need and to be housed," she said.
Contributors that have helped make the expansion possible include Lancaster Housing and Redevelopment Authority, which contributed $784,000 in a series of grants; Rotary of Elizabethtown, which provided money for enrichment center; and the United Way of Lancaster County. "ECHOS is the spearhead agency for the Elizabethtown Area Hub, one of the United Way's collective impact partnerships," explained Jones.
The cost of the building is estimated at more than $2 million. "We are at a huge stepping off point here, where we need to purchase $1.5 million in bonds to cover the expansion costs," said Lamb. Individuals wishing to take part in this fundraising effort may visit https://communityplaceetown.org for more information.
Jones noted that being able to meet the basic needs of families increases their chances for a positive outcome, which in turn benefits everyone. "It not only impacts the individual and the family, but it strengthens our community as a whole," she said. "Our community is much stronger as we collaborate together."
Information about ECHOS and its programs may be obtained by visiting https://echoslancaster.org.
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