MANSFIELD — What was once a grassy plot of land now features an eight-unit apartment complex that will house youths as they transition out of the foster-care system. During their stay, tenants will learn skills that they may not have gained during their childhood.
Dozens of people welcomed this new addition to the city on Thursday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The building, dubbed “Wood Pointe,” was dedicated to William Wood, who served as executive director of the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board from 1986 to 2002.
“I believe that what will occur within these walls will help young people move onto healthy, happy and fulfilling lives,” Wood said.
Joe Trolian, current executive director of the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, said the idea for Wood Pointe blossomed about seven years ago.
“I was doing some research and our highest utilizers in our system, the ones that had been around the longest, all had ties back to foster care,” he said. “And looking at many of them, they were ambulatory, they had a pretty good mind, but they never learned how to take care of themselves.”
Residents will be between the ages of 18 and 21 and will be referred by social service agencies. The first four residents are expected to move in soon.
Located at 283 Grandview Ave., the 6,500 square-foot complex includes eight one-bedroom units that has the capacity for eight individuals.
The architect and general contractor for this project was Seckel Group Architects and Studer-Obringer Construction, respectively.
Tenants will be able to live rent-free for the first 90 days before being expected to pay progressively higher percentages of the rent until they eventually are paying the full market rate.
All of the rooms are furnished with about $2,500 worth of furnishings, courtesy of local agencies and businesses.
“The thought behind this is most people are not coming with a whole lot in their pockets,” Trolian said. “We wanted to make sure that they had a nice place to stay, good quality furniture to live with, because if they come in here and they have no issues with their residency agreement for the first six months, all of that furniture, all of the furnishings — pots, pans, plates — all become theirs.”
The building has a couple community rooms where tenants can learn a variety of subjects to help them become a responsible adult, whether that’s how to cook, how to balance a checkbook, job skills training, etc. There’s also a laundry room.
Many community partners helped make this possible and are rooting for its success.
“We have partners that range from Children Services, Juvenile Court, UMADAOP, Catalyst, Family Life, I mean I could go on and on and on,” Trolian said.
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Tracy Plouck commended the collaborative efforts that helped with this project.
“I think that this particular project here in Mansfield is an excellent example of the intersystem collaboration that’s really necessary in order to help people who’ve been confronted with challenges continue to focus on resiliency and continue to focus on hope that there is certainly greater possibilities for the future,” she said.
Trolian said Wood Pointe is meant to help give people direction.
“To get them pointed, going the right way and hopefully help them, like a point on a compass, find their way into adulthood and into a productive life,” he said.
