The Voluntary Action Center (VAC) is packing up their client files, emergency food and toiletries, and boxes and boxes of diapers and moving into their new location on the east end of the Business Loop. All of VAC’s counselors are moving into the newly built resource center starting next week and services should resume on April 6.
This is the first stage of a larger social services-oriented campus with Turning Point Day Center phasing in operations beginning June 1 and Loaves and Fishes planning to begin meals there by July 20. The overnight shelter should be open by July, providing the construction stays on schedule.
The Opportunity Campus will provide counseling, housing assistance, employment services, medical and mental health care, showers, laundry, storage, and even veterinary care.
The folks at VAC have done tremendous outreach to their neighbors and to the CID. We meet with them monthly, along with a representative of the Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team, in order to identify and address issues before they become problems.
Because they are committed to being good neighbors, VAC has both on-site security and strong contacts with various homeless outreach groups. However, we recommend anyone with an issue call the CPD’s non-emergency number (dial 311) for assistance. The dispatcher can best decide who to send and this will help CPD map problem areas and better allocate their resources. And of course, call 911 if you think a situation is dangerous.
More about the Opportunity Campus: https://drive.google.com/.../1xbnbk4O7XCEazeeTvjIFZD.../view
