to the Petersburg facility.
By Stephen Smoot
During the past few years, Eastern Action has worked to expand its services and offerings in the area. In the past 18 months, Family Support Centers have been established to serve those in need in Potomac Highlands counties.
Now the new facility at 101 Avenue in Petersburg prepares to take the next step in helping families and households in need.
Last week, an open house was held for both citizens and community leaders. Staff led attendees through the facility on tours. Those who joined included David Workman, Hardy County commissioner, Sarah Moomau, Seneca Rocks Regional Development Authority board member, and Rhett Dusenbury, official representative of Congressman Riley Moore.
“This facility is amazing!” shared Moomau.
Visitors entering the front door can immediately turn left or right. Right takes one into a thrift store fully stocked with clean and good quality merchandise, much of it donated from individuals, businesses, or others.
Turn left and one can walk through another door and enter a common area. Here staff have lined the walls of the room with toys, games, and other activities for different ages of children. Others can sit at tables to eat or do art projects, while others can lounge in comfortable chairs.
The entire room is designed and furnished to make families with children feel comfortable and at ease.
In that area, during hours of operation, families are welcome to drop in without appointment. The space serves best as a place for socialization. Parents or guardians can let children read a book or play while they chat with staff. Often, those caring for children and experiencing the innumerable stresses of life come to vent or to ask advice.
Family Support Centers in every county also run classes in subjects such as cooking, life skills, or even Spanish language. Classes can take place on site or in areas close to people in need. Last year canning classes were held in Old Fields and cooking classes in Union and Franklin.
Additional services can include helping to access transportation and child care or assistance with utilities.
Those who want to be part of the program sign up for life coaching. While loose income requirements do exist, Traci Wilson, staff member, explains, “We never have had a family not qualify.”
Behind the ample spaces designed to accommodate families and children are rows of administrative offices along a hallway leading to a large storage area – and also a large back room in the midst of construction.
Matt Hinkle, director, helped to lead the tour to a studio containing a desk, two microphones and chairs, and sound buffering features. He shared that recently “we did our first video call and recorded it,” then added that those listening remotely could even hear the whisper soft air conditioning vent.
From the studio, Eastern Action will conduct a regular podcast that will touch on “anything related to Community Action in general.”
The Alt Avenue location consolidates some of the functions that had been in Moorefield. Hinkle explained to Workman that they had intended to keep those services in Moorefield, but the rising cost of commercial real estate in Hardy County deterred them.
Workman praised the work of Eastern Action, saying, “I think this will be a very nice addition to the community.” He added later that “I think that Family Support Centers will be what Community Action and Eastern Action will be known for going forward.”
The last stop on the tour revealed Eastern Action’s latest project.
Emily Syler, a trainer, welcomed the tour next. She led the group to a room with concrete floors, bare plywood walls, and two models. One wall separated two sections of the space.
One of the core programs for Eastern Action, historically, has been providing weatherization services. Trained technicians go to the homes of seniors and families with children to identify issues, often helping households save on bills by sealing off areas where outside air can interfere with climate control.
Some issues, however, go even further than that. Eastern Action will soon train teams of technicians to help to correct home issues and educate the residents on how to identify, or in some cases, address problems.
Syler went to the first model that she called “HOP, House of Pressure.” She explained that the model served as a perfect representation of “a building shell and how that affects pressure within the house.”
The model can replicate “the worst pressure situations” that can pull unhealthy gases back into the house.” Students can also learn to “assess duct work and venting in the house.”
Beside the HOP sat the HAM, not a delicious piece of pork, but the “House of Air and Moisture.” Students learn from this model the various ways that moisture can ride air currents to different areas of a house, condense, and form dangerous mold or damage the structure.
Syler also pointed out the smaller space separated by a plywood wall currently, explaining that this section will house computers for online learning and work.
As the tours ended, families gathered in the common area. Children played, parents socialized, and all enjoyed Little Caesar’s pizza as they experienced a respite from the stress of life and parenting.
