Vision with a focus

Bethel AME Church Pastor Lonnie Mitchell has had a vision for the East Central community since the 1990s.

The neighborhood has been recognized by the city as one of the lowest-income areas in the region. Much of Mitchell’s congregation resides in the Richard Allen Apartments, a low-income housing complex located yards away from the church.

Low incomes and low educational achievement levels create barriers for families in need of local support, Mitchell says.

“What I would like to see is people having access to services to help them move from dependency to self-sufficiency,” he said.

The physical embodiment of Mitchell’s vision is the 17,000-square-foot Emmanuel Family Life Center which. The pastor first announced the center to the public in 2005 and expected the building to be completed within six months.

Three years later, the building remains unfinished, but construction is still taking place. The electrical, plumbing and HVAC system are complete. The drywall has just been put up. Nails, chainsaws and crushed soda cans litter the empty concrete rooms. Chunks of asphalt and concrete lay where a paved sidewalk will later lead up to a back entrance. Slabs of materials lean against the interior walls.

Mitchell said he expects the center to be fully operational by Nov. 1.

“Funding challenges” led to the two-year delay, Mitchell said.

The church tried to match what the state had given them with other federal funds. During that time, a situation with federal earmarks made the project come to a screeching halt, he said.

The church took out a $200,000 loan to “really keep the construction going,” Mitchell said. Now, the church is raising money to pay down the loan so when potential tenants come in, they will have lower lease payments.

The center has received $1.6 million in donations and funding from the state government, grants, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Kiemle and Hagood Company and others, Mitchell said. The community has donated $200,000 in labor.

“It’s been a labor of love,” said construction manager Charles Williams as he walked past an empty elevator shaft and soon-to-be restrooms.

The center will house a variety of social service programs for all Spokane residents.

“People matter and we care, that’s the basis (of the center),” Mitchell said.

The $1.7 million dollar center will have a multipurpose gym and computer labs and homework rooms for kids in the Richard Allen after-school program. The church partnered with Spokane Falls Community College to provide tutors and bring in GED, English as a Second Language and other adult educational programs. The Interfaith Hospitality Group, which helps homeless people get back on their feet, will move from its current office down the street into the center. As will the Richard Allen Youth Academy, which can only accommodate 32 kids right now but can soon expand to 72 kids, Mitchell said.

“The center is a one-stop shop housing education and social service programs that will serve our community. Not just the East Central Community,” he said. “It’s the church’s vision but the community’s facility.”