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Dumas Wesley Community Center Increases Services to Families

(Brenda Carlisle, Executive Director) For over 107 years Dumas Wesley Community Center has served the Mobile community, providing services for men, women and children of all ages.  As the expressed needs of the community changed, Dumas Wesley has always strived to respond, evolve and do whatever was necessary to meet those needs.  

Because we have the responsibility to be good stewards of all resources entrusted to us, the Board of Directors of Dumas Wesley has been reviewing and evaluating the demand for and outcomes of all our programs.  After months of prayer, extensive deliberation, and a consideration of the consequences, the decision has been made to close our day care center.

Costs of operating the day care have risen dramatically in the last five years, while the funding which subsidized the program has declined.  Without sufficient resources we can not provide the high quality of day care services which we feel our families deserve.

The decision to close the day care does not mean that we will cease to serve infants and children.  In fact, we intend to increase services to families in several new and different ways in the very near future.  Whether directly planned and staffed by Dumas Wesley, or in partnership with other agencies and organizations, these services will be in direct response to the needs of the people we serve.

An after-school tutoring and enrichment program for school-age children is planned, along with classes for parents in which they may learn how to become more involved in their children’s education.   

In addition, the University of South Alabama’s College of Nursing recently implemented a five-year grant which provides on-site health and wellness education and services to families and senior citizens served by Dumas Wesley.  Plans are to expand this Wellness Center program to include in-home services to homebound residents of the neighborhood in which Dumas Wesley is located.  Outreach workers from Dumas Wesley will provide the point of contact for the Wellness Center staff and the residents. 

Plans are underway to expand our ministry to homeless families and at-risk juveniles through two other initiatives.   Our capacity to serve senior citizens through the daily Seniors Activities for Independent Living (SAIL) program is increasing, including delivery of more meals to homebound seniors.  

We are indeed blessed to have the support of our many friends throughout the Alabama-West Florida Conference as together we enter our 108th year of ministry.  We especially covet your prayers as we close out one phase of our ministry while seeking God’s will and direction for the future.
 
 

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