WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Central Wisconsin will soon have a new non-profit center offering a variety of ways to help those in need.
The former job center on Grand Avenue is being converted into a shared space, offering food pantries, housing assistance, help for mothers and their children and more.
“The same family or individual would have to take a bus now to go to one of the other service providers and again have the same issue of not being able to have access to the front door. We have that here,” Brian Gumness, President of Community Partners Campus, told WAOW-TV.
The organizers, Community Partners Campus, began by helping The Neighbors Place find a new building. However, they soon realized the potential to bring a variety of groups together.
“To have this opportunity for all of us that do all of this amazing work to help those less fortunate in our community eliminate barriers by having it all in one place is pretty incredible,” said Donna Ambrose, Executive Director of The Neighbors Place.
One of the biggest selling points is the building’s location on Grand Avenue. The site is also on the bus route, providing transportation for those in need who do not have a vehicle.
“Community Partners Campus in this centrally located location expects to serve approximately 15,000 individuals annually and help provide a safety net of services to needy families,” said Kevin Noel, Vice President of Community Partners Campus.
Organizers said it has been a community effort to get to this point and their goal is to give back and reduce the stigma surrounding the less fortunate.
Construction is tentatively planned for the spring with the completion happening by the fall of 2022.
