When you walk through the red doors of the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson, one of the first things you notice is how worn the hardwood floors are. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that the building is 71 years old, but the main reason for the wear-and-tear is the number of people who come through the center to help or to be helped.

With hundreds of volunteers who do everything from answering phones to offering dental care, Ada Jenkins Center has helped folks from North Mecklenburg and South Iredell (Interstate 77 Exits 18 to 42 to be exact) get back on their feet.

“(The center) saves people’s lives,” says interim executive director Georgia Krueger. “Nobody expects to be in crisis. Things happen that are beyond our control, so Ada Jenkins provides an emergency intervention.” It also, she adds, aims to stop the cycle of poverty.

One-stop help center

Ada Jenkins Center is housed in what used to be the Davidson Colored School. When a fire destroyed the wooden schoolhouse used by African-Americans in the 1920s, Ada Jenkins, the school’s principal, raised money to build a brick schoolhouse. The building operated as a school until 1966 when the local schools integrated. From the ’70s through the early ’90s, the building served as a community center.

“Approximately 10 years ago a group of interested, committed, unbelievable community leaders said, ‘This is ridiculous that this school is sitting here empty. We need to do something with it,’ ” recalls Krueger.

Ada Jenkins Center celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. Today, the center offers more than 15 programs in addition to numerous partnerships to help people in crisis. Programs include the Free Clinic of Our Towns, which supplies free medical care to uninsured or underinsured; LEARNWorks, an after-school program that helps 60 children ages 6 to 11 improve academically; Holiday Assistance, which provides food at Thanksgiving and presents at Christmas to needy families. Other offerings include computer services, Latino support services, Loaves & Fishes, United Family Services and the Sunshine Fund, which provides help with rent, utilities and other emergency expenses.

“It’s a one-stop health and human services center,” says Krueger. An example of the center’s partnerships is Project J.O.B.S. (Journey to Opportunities and Becoming Self-Sufficient), which is funded through the United Way. By partnering with Mooresville Christian Mission, The Davidson Housing Coalition and the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Inc., the J.O.B.S program at Ada Jenkins Center helps unemployed or underemployed people reach success, whether that be stability or a better-paying and more satisfying job.

“There’s a lot that goes on in terms of career development, life skills, financial literacy, that kind of thing in that program,” says Krueger.

Agencies such as Crisis Assistance Ministries, Freedom Schools (a summer enrichment program for grades K-8), KinderMourn and the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Our Towns partner with Ada Jenkins Center simply by having a presence in the 16,500-square-foot building.

A growing need
As the economy slows, Ada Jenkins Center is busier than ever. “We are having increased traffic just for people who can’t pay their rent or don’t have food or their electricity is about to be cut off,” says Krueger.

Janice Whitcomb, a program coordinator/social worker who has worked at Ada Jenkins for five years, says this is the worst she’s seen it. “Individuals who give at Christmas and have provided presents for others for Christmas have asked to be on the client list for Christmas,” says Whitcomb. “It’s just a very sad and scary time for everybody.”

Ada Jenkins Center operates with a $927,000 budget, made up mostly of donations and grants – 30 percent of which come from United Way. From July 2007 to June 2008 the center served 22,000 “client service units,” which means that in 22,000 instances someone was helped.

“We have a certain amount of money that we can give everybody a year based on our little budget that we have, and we’ve actually had to take that budget and give people less because of the amount of people we’re seeing,” explains Whitcomb, adding that clients have to show demonstrated need. “Instead of seeing three people a day, we’ve seen six people a day or seven people a day, and the funds just aren’t there.”

Whitcomb says the current situation has forced the center to do more in-depth screening. “If we have someone who is elderly in their home and they’re on oxygen and their power is going to be turned off, you know we cannot not help them keep their power on because people need their oxygen,” she says. “If there’s two adults or three adults in the home and nobody’s working, let’s get them placed in a job.”

Lorna Bishop, a retired insurance executive who serves on the board at Ada Jenkins Center, says that people need to pay attention to the needs of others. “I think our community has no concept of the disparity of incomes in the Lake Norman area and the numbers of people who are at the poverty or below poverty level in our community,” she says. “It’s astronomical. Ada Jenkins is one of the major resources for people for help with food, with clothing, with crisis assistance, with tutoring, with teaching.”

Even though things are stretched right now, Whitcomb and the staff at Ada Jenkins Center want people in crisis to know that they’re not alone. “People need to know that there is help, even if it’s just as little as there’s some food here or just knowing that there’s somewhere to go and not to give up,” she says. “There is hope.” | LN

Want to help?
Ada Jenkins Center is always looking for volunteers to help with everything from answering phones to picking up donated food to mentoring a child. To volunteer, call 704-896-0471 or visit www.adajenkins.org.

On Jan. 17, Ada Jenkins Center holds its annual fundraising gala at The Peninsula Club in Cornelius. Tickets for the 7 p.m. event are $125 per person. Purchase them online at www.adajenkins.org/ice or by e-mailing Lisa Koenig at lisa.koenig@adajenkins.org.