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Hope is the main offering at this new center

By DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published January 27, 2007

CLEARWATER - Jonathan Wade hopes that a small, once-dilapidated building he bought and fixed up can bring a sliver of hope to some of the North Greenwood area's residents in need.

Inside, the new Jonathan Wade Center for Growth and Development will provide a host of services, including substance abuse, employment and family counseling.

Wade purchased the building, at 1402 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, in 2003 with a $29,000 Community Block Grant. He then took out a $90,000 equity loan for renovations. Wade received $25,000 from the city and $6,500 from the Pinellas County Substance Abuse Advisory Board. An anonymous donor added $10,000.

The entire building needed to be rebuilt from the ground up, Wade said. The roof was caving, there were no windows; the building was a concrete shell.

At 11 a.m. today, the building, with fresh paint, a new roof, a group room, two offices, a bathroom and a kitchen, will make its public debut. Wade is having an open house to introduce the new facility to the community and to thank those who have helped him get to this point.

The Wade Center will offer services through Spiritual Change Inc., a nonprofit Wade founded in 1999 that provides substance-abuse prevention targeting North Greenwood.

Kinship Care Support, which helps people raising children who are not their biological children, will meet at the building, as well as a service that will provide employment counseling for people with criminal histories.

Wade, 51, said that for the first time, he will be able to have his many programs under one roof, instead of having to work out of his home or use other local centers.

"It's huge," said Wade, a social worker, past president of the North Greenwood Association, and the operator of the new community facility.

"It's going to provide a place where individuals can find skills about employment and drug prevention that will be in a walking distance. It's truly a community-based center."

Because Wade still works a full-time job as a therapist, the Wade Center will be open four days a week, Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Clearwater Police Chief Sid Klein said the center will be positive for North Greenwood.

"Given the current state of affairs, in particular the drug dealing, any program that would create opportunity, I'm certainly supportive," Klein said. "If we can transform those young men that would apply their talent in the drug trade into legitimate employment, everyone wins."

Fast Facts:

The Wade center

The Jonathan Wade Center for Growth and Development, at 1402 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Clearwater, offers a host of counseling services targeted for residents in the North Greenwood area. It will be open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and by appointment as needed. For information, call 727-560-4382 or 727-442-9516.

[Last modified January 26, 2007, 23:52:39]