The May Dugan Center broke ground on a renovated facility the social service center said will provide them with the space needed to serve more Northeast Ohio families, children, aging adults and people in need.
The center is an institution on Cleveland's West Side that has provided food and clothing, behavioral health counseling, educational and job search support, victim services and trauma counseling from its location on Bridge Avenue in Ohio City since the late 1960s.
"Hopefully the expansion will exceed to all levels the rich, poor and the powerless... That's the main focus," said Queen Johnson, a community member, who relies on May Dugan for help with food and housing support. "It really helps the minority, the poverty, the oppressed, the homeless. And that's important."
The renovation and expansion are the result of a $7.5 million capital campaign. The money will allow the center to provide 15,000 more meals a year and extend mental health counseling, case management and addiction treatment to 225 more people, according to a media release.
Cleveland's Ward 3 City Councilman Kerry McCormack celebrated the center’s future expansion but also honored its past.
"I'm just really proud to be here today to not only celebrate the many years of service that May Dugan has provided for our community," he said, "but understanding that this renovation will allow May Dugan to serve more people for into perpetuity."
The expanded facility will also feature a better-equipped trauma recovery center and more therapy rooms to support the healing and well-being of victims of crime and those suffering from trauma, the release said.
A previous version of this story misstated Queen Johnson's last name. We regret the error.
Stephanie Czekalinski contributed to this report.
