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By JOSH ZIMMER, Times Staff WriterA social services center joins a series of buildings that lend support and hope to this community.
UNIVERSITY NORTH - Seven months' pregnant, Delilah Smith dropped by the local office of a federal program for low-income mothers and children the other day.
But she also wanted a checkup. Until recently, that would have entailed a trip to the free health clinic at Rome Avenue 8 miles away.
No longer. Smith, 19, walked about 100 yards to a new building off N 22nd Street.
Ending years of anticipation, the University Area Community Social Services Center opened to the public late last month. Two side-by-side buildings now offer residents in 11 surrounding ZIP codes a wider array of services in roomier, better-equipped offices.
For Smith and many others, using the Women, Infants and Children program involved visits to a set of cramped trailers up the road - the temporary local headquarters of the Hillsborough County Department of Health and Social Services. Smith said the new complex is closer to home and more comfortable.
"This one has more chairs," Smith said. "It's just nice."
The social services center is the latest addition to a campus of public buildings that in recent years has transformed N 22nd Street from a bastion of poverty into a model of urban renewal. The construction, funded by $80-million in taxpayer dollars, includes the University Area Community Center, Muller Elementary School and Bowers-Whitley Career Center. Junior Achievement of West Central Florida is scheduled to open the campus' first privately funded project - a 15,000-square-foot enterprise village next to Muller - this year.
The new complex awaits some finishing touches, such as landscaping. Walls were missing name tags and other signs during a recent tour, and the microphone system in the waiting room had yet to be installed. When it opened for business, center manager Lucious Davis said the phone lines weren't connected.
"We did not have furniture," added human services supervisor Rosa Liyunam.
But those are minor details for Davis and his staff of six social workers, who worked for years in buildings that offered few conveniences for employees and clients. For example, when it rained, people walking to and from offices simply got rained on.
Now, everything is in one place. A metal canopy connects the two buildings.
The WIC office shares space with Healthy Start, a program that provides support for low-income parents, and the county office of vital statistics. It was moved from downtown Tampa. In the north building, the social services staff will work with a sheriff's deputy and a county Department of Aging Services caseworker. Davis said he also is lobbying for a county code enforcement satellite office.
The complex is built on land owned by the Hillsborough County School District, which last year opened the Bowers-Whitley Career Center. Educators have long talked about using the center as a training ground for future health and social workers.
One prime candidate is the school's nursing program. Based on the county health department's estimates, there should be plenty to keep students busy. Clinic managers expect a 25 percent jump in clientele.
A publicity committee met Tuesday to brainstorm ways to promote the social services center. Chairwoman Yama Gooding said one idea is to pass out fliers at schools and day care centers.
"This is something that needs to be in our community," said Gooding, a student intervention specialist at Bowers-Whitley. "Hopefully it could lead to something for our kids."
Josh Zimmer covers Temple Terrace and the University of South Florida area. He can be reached at 269-5314 or zimmer@sptimes.com