Strolling East from Central Market, one will observe the towering Marriott Hotel on the right, followed by the courthouse on the left, and, a little further, the Demuth Tobacco Shop on the right. Many would assume this end of all “viable” destinations East of Penn Square. But, since 2006, the Historic Eastern Market at 308 East King Street has been working to prove that assumption wrong.
Category: Community Service Profile
Project Hope and the state of AIDS in Lancaster County
According to Melinda Zipp, Director of Project Hope (a division of the Lancaster Urban League), there are about 2,500 people living in Lancaster County who have been infected with HIV/AIDS. And as much as 25% of these people do not even know it. This virus, life-altering at best and deadly at worst, can creep quietly through a population, often under the cover of secrecy and shame. So what does Lancaster County need to take on such an elusive threat to public health?
Council of Churches expands with county-wide need
Just as the Council of Churches’ (CoC) North Marshall Street exterior does not let on the full scope of services that are housed within, the entire headquarters itself is only one portion of the services that the CoC extends throughout Lancaster County. An interview with Executive Director Scott Fischer revealed a broadly spanning effort to address social needs within the city and beyond.
Council of Churches offers fine-tuned assistance programs
At 344 N Marshall St, the Council of Churches (CoC) headquarters rests behind a thrifty edifice: The simple white building is fronted with a modest parking lot and is adorned with little more than a few signs to identify the organization. But within those walls there runs an intricately patterned network of community services, each carefully modified over time to provide the highest quality care to the greatest number of people.
City clinic looks to expanded role in coming years
Ultimately, the SELHS does not provide free healthcare. The organization’s annual budget consists primarily of money collected through standard service fees. What really makes the clinic a vital asset to the community is that SELHS will accept payment through medical assistance (MA)—a currency that many doctors would not readily accept. As the need for MA increases in Lancaster County, so does the need for services provided by SELHS. There are currently over 35,000 Lancastrians on MA.
RASE works to improve addiction management
A previous NewsLanc interview revealed that effective Suboxone (a.k.a. buprenorphine) treatment for Lancaster’s heroin addicts is largely impeded by a lack of doctors interested in obtaining certification to prescribe this medication. The reason for this reluctance is that, in the words of a local expert, “A lot of physicians really don’t want to … have a caseload of heroin addicts.” To change this pattern of under-treatment, one area organization has set out to make the doctor’s role as simple as possible by independently coordinating the elements of care involved with Suboxone treatment.
SACA promotes Latino workforce investment at annual fiesta
On Thursday evening, May 22, the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) hosted its 28th annual fiesta at the Centro Hispano building on Pershing Avenue in the Southeast section of Lancaster City. The fundraising event was attended by hundreds of guests, and bounced with a bright tone of celebration—for the Hispanic and Latino community in Lancaster and for the work done by SACA to strengthen that community.
The Lancaster Urban League: Much to do with little means
NewsLanc recently interviewed three project directors involved with the Lancaster Urban League (LUL): Regina Duell, Director of Operations; Zeltha Ellis, Director of Adult and Youth Education Support Services; and Melinda Zapp, Director of Project Hope. The LUL exists to empower poor and underprivileged minority groups, primarily living in Lancaster City.
Why so little funding for “working poor” rehab?
Most Federal and State funded programs have encountered budget cuts as a result of the recent economic recession. But, according to Kastner, this is no new development for the LCDAC. Whereas most other government funded human services programs are budgeted around $10 million each year, the LCDAC has received less than $4 million for each of the past seven years.
Rehab funding closed to Lancaster’s “working poor”
On December 8, 2008, the Lancaster County Drug and Alcohol Commission (LCDAC) had to cease accepting new placements into rehab and halfway house (HH) programs. There will be no new admissions until the beginning of the next fiscal year, on July 1. Of course, the LCDAC, which has historically received scanty funding from its State and Federal sources, has had to block admission to these programs before—but only for about two months, not seven.
Lancaster’s Radio Centro attracts International Latino Stars
Radio Centro (91.3 WLCH) first entered the local airwaves on September 14, 1987. Station Manager Enid Vasquez-Pereira was there on that Monday morning, and today she easily recalls the small beginnings: “It was a little studio. You’d walk into the production studio and then walk into the on-air studio, so there were a lot of interruptions.” It was a Now the station occupies a generous first-floor space for their lively headquarters at 30 N Ann St.
SACA serves growing Latino community
Over one third of Lancaster’s population is Latino, a diverse Spanish-speaking group of cultures and nationalities. The stated mission of the Lancaster’s Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) is “to foster and facilitate the cultural, social, civic and economic development of the Latino Community of the City and County of Lancaster through the provision of human […]
Bethel AME Church feeds the hungry
By chance and for a different matter, a reporter for NewsLanc arrived at the AME Bethel Church headquarters at Strawberry and Chester Streets at the moment when approximately 80 persons were passing from the lobby area downstairs to the food bank the church operates. The economic status of most of these persons would not be […]
Tabor helps homeless to become self sufficient
NewsLanc personnel visited with management of Tabor Community Services last week. Located in its own office building at 308 East King Street, Tabor is a not-for-profit corporation established in Lancaster 40 years ago as a housing and credit counseling agency for persons experiencing difficulties in those areas. “We don’t really have anything to give to […]