By Kaitlin Hoskins, News Editor
Family Success Center will soon own the building it has resided in for many years.
The City of Gadsden previously owned the property located at 821 East Broad Street but is now selling that location to the non-profit organization.
“It has been a pleasure working with Family Success Center and their attorney Mike Haney and their board,” Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford said. “They do an excellent job. We’re excited for them. Now they have control of their building and also the garden that they provide for the public.”
Family Success Center of Etowah County is a non-profit organization that provides comprehensive and coordinated services allowing families to make positive changes in their lives.
“I can’t say enough good things about Family Success Center and the partnership that the City of Gadsden has with them,” Ford said.
The Gadsden City Council unanimously voted Tuesday, February 27, to approve the selling of the property to Family Success Center.
The purchase price was $100,000 and the organization will pay the city in equal installments of $500 until the building is paid off.
Family Success Center offers various programs geared toward helping individuals and families with basic needs and more. The organization services all of Etowah County.
Some of the programs offered include a Financial Stability Program, Child Abuse Prevention, PEACE Program, Hope Counseling, Relationship Education, Supervised Visitation, Inclusive Needs Program, Substance Abuse Referral Program, Human Trafficking Screening Program and Maternity Care Coordination Program.
The group also offers free haircuts for low income families, people facing homelessness and survivors of domestic abuse, as well as a free community garden and food pantry.
Marie Franklin Johnson was chosen as the first director of Family Success Center and she served in that roll until her retirement in 2017. Now the organization is under the leadership of Emma Hazlewood Clapp.
The organization opened its first location still referred to as “the blue house” in July of 2001. The current location was a key part of the East Gadsden Revitalization Project and was completed in August 2006. The blue house was torn down in 2020.
In other business, the City of Gadsden:
Approved a resolution honoring the life of Clarice Robinson.
Approved a resolution awarding bid no. 3536 for furniture purchasing for the Senior Wellness Center.
Approved a resolution awarding bid no. 3542 for a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado for the public works department.
Heard reports from Tina Morrison, executive director of Greater Gadsden Area Tourism, regarding upcoming events in the city and county.
Heard reports from Ruth Moffatt, director of divert, equity and inclusion in the Gadsden mayor’s office, regarding a diversity blood drive being held at Gadsden City Hall Friday, March 1.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Gadsden City Council will be Tuesday, March 5 at 11 a.m.