EASTSIDE CENTER FOR HUMAN CONCERNS

The Eastside, one of 19 neighborhoods in Charleston, S.C., is designated as Charleston's Enterprise Community. The Eastside Community, which has a population of 22,544, offers a textbook example of the problems that plague cities throughout the United States.

The Eastside Center for Human Concerns, located in the newly-renovated Josiah Smith Tennent House, provides intensive, comprehensive services through a "One-Stop" facility. The center will make a crucial difference in the future of our city's present primary caregiver, single head of house hold & non-custodial father population and the next generation who are presently in their care.

Each of the four floors of the center will focus on activities to make a real difference in the lives of Charleston's Eastside residents:

First Floor: AmericaCares (The Center For Infant/Toddler/ Parent Enhancement) will serve not just as the foundation of the building; it will also serve as the infrastructure for the future of the community. This will be the children’s floor, a state-of-the-art 24-hour childcare and parenting center, providing comprehensive childcare for forty-five (45) – sixty (60) children ages 3-months -3 years of age. The burden of childcare will not be a problem any longer for male and women Project “Restore” and Enterprise Renewal Community participants/residents, as they learn employment/social skills. The funding for the construction of this floor came through the kind generosity of a Hugh McColl & Bank of America gift. The child development center will care for the children in a loving, caring environment as well as, with local private/public school professionals, prepare the children for successful transition to elementary school. Additional services provided on the floor will focus on enhancing the parenting skills of the non-custodial father and primary caregiver involved in the training program. Projected completion date March 31, 2005.

Second Floor: The Bi-Lo Center for Academic, Technical & Social Enhancement will be the heart of the information dissemination, long-distance learning and training services. This floor will house a Video Conferencing Center, 5-station Clearinghouse, and 15-20 wireless computer laboratories and multi-media center (construction funded in part, by the Joanna Foundation). Equipment and Salaries for Project “Restore” funded through an appropriation by the Honorable Senator Ernest F. Hollings, United State Senate via the United States Small Business Agency. Employability, Social, and Occupational skills training will focus on job readiness skills, computer literacy skills and specific computer programming, developed by banking, medical, social, psychological and local education and professorial personnel from Trident Technical College & College of Charleston. Funding for this floor is because of the kind generosity of Mr. Marshall Collins & Bi-Lo Stores and the US Small Business Administration (Congressional Mandated Award). Various foundations were responsible for funding the technology for the floor. The employability curriculum will be developed and taught by local businesses will include work ethics and skills essential to success in the job market. Completion date February 1, 2005.

Third Floor: The Center of Legal Diversity and Non-violence will house R.E.S.T.O.R.E., Inc.’s Justify Amnesty, outreach and services offered by the Charleston School of Law. The floor will coordinate some efforts of the Charleston and South Carolina Bar Association who will provide & coordinate pro bono legal services, domestic abuse and a non-violence center, staffed by the City of Charleston’s Chaplain and certified counselors. Inner-city residents living in poverty often encounter legal problems. Legal assistance will also be available on the third floor, through volunteer legal professionals, to help the members of the community overcome life’s difficulties. Mr. William E. Murray, Esquire, and Chairman of the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust provided funding for the third floor. This floor, with the assistance of the Bar Association, will also train paralegals for various law firms through out the City/County of Charleston. Also housed on the floor that will complement the holistic legal services provided to the participants, will be ministerial professionals and volunteer certified family, drug and alcohol, and psychological personnel. Spiritual advisement of an ecumenical, sociological and psychological nature will also be available on the third floor. Completion date October 1, 2004.

Fourth Floor: The Sisters’ Center for Dental Health Consultation & Services, sponsored by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina will house the dental services and referrals and will provide primary care for the men, women and children of R.E.S.T.O.R.E., Inc. and the working poor, disenfranchised, under/un-employed citizens of the Enterprise Renewal Community. Dental services are a major portion of any holistic health approach. It, coupled with the major emphasis on life-style improvement will be the focus on this floor. The volunteer dental personnel on this floor will include periodontal, orthodontic professionals as well as general practitioners. With the exception one or two dental professionals in private practice, there is not a dental facility in the Enterprise Renewal Community. Completion date October 31, 2004.

Like many communities its size, the Eastside Community faces the specter of an emerging unemployable under-class lacking the work skills and social skills to function in a highly technological society. Such a development not only poses unacceptable human costs but, if not addressed, will stretch the limits of social control and public assistance within our city as it already occurring in many large urban areas of our country.