By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-983372.mp3
Lansing, MI – Housing advocates in Lansing are dedicating a new facility today that's part assistance office and part art gallery. The Greater Lansing Housing Coalition is officially opening the Neighborhood Empowerment Center on Maple Street north of downtown Lansing. The building once housed the library for the Michigan School for the Blind.
WKAR's Kevin Lavery spoke with the coalition's executive director, Katherine Draper, about the project. She says the building serves two main purposes.
KATHERINE DRAPER: It's an opportunity for our staff to have a professional facility, but also it's an opportunity for neighborhood organizations and community groups to have a place to come and meet. We have frequent meetings in our board rooms, in our classrooms; we hold homeowner education classes in the classroom, and we invite other neighborhood groups and just any other community groups within the Lansing area who need a space to meet to come and gather here. And we don't charge for those services.
KEVIN LAVERY:What types of services are available for people who are facing foreclosure?
DRAPER:That was a new program that we started about a year ago, and we did it in response to the needs of the citizens. We found that we were getting a lot of calls from people who needed assistance. They were in danger of losing their homes; the banks would be taking them back. And so we have two counselors on staff: Lance Queen and Bruce Witwer, and they're available by appointment. And they'll do things from working with the banks to helping the people refinance on their own to helping them restructure their own personal credit situation so that they'll be able to obtain some help in the future.
LAVERY:Tell me a bit about the actual renovation of this building and how it came to be. This used to be the library for the Michigan School for the Blind.
DRAPER:It was, it was. We pretty much reinvented it. The plans that we originally had were rather static, and they didn't have a very progressive approach or an exciting approach to making this building a welcoming, state-of-the-art site for people to come and enjoy. So we really went back to the drawing board, and this is when the city and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority offered to help us, and [we] asked them whether they would consider providing a little bit more money so that we could change the plans to make it a more contemporary, open and inviting facility for the general public.
LAVERY:Artwork will be a big part of this building. Why is that part of the welcoming feel?
DRAPER:We currently have our opening ceremonial exhibition, and this is from artists who've been well-known in the Lansing community over the years. We have two goals in mind. We'd like to establish a permanent collection, so we're hoping that some artists will donate some works to our permanent collection. Secondly, we want to have rotating exhibits. So, we're thinking that the exhibit that's up right now will stay on the walls until December and then the art committee will select some new artists to come and display their works here so that the community can come and also always enjoy a different selection of art. There's so much light in this building, and the walls were just created to have some great contemporary art. So the focus is on truly contemporary art and photography.
LAVERY:In your mind, what is truly exciting about this facility being an anchor in this neighborhood and this city?
DRAPER:We intend it to be a genesis for more rehab in this area, and to create some excitement for other people to come onto the School for the Blind campus, look at the potential for the property that's here to create other types of; not businesses, but it could be anything from a music auditorium to a sculpture garden, whatever is created. But with the intent in mind that the whole property will be developed and will have a welcoming feel for all of our residents to come and visit and utilize the services.