This Hub’s for you

Key players in helping establish the Northern Lancaster Hub are Penny Talbert, Ephrata Public Library Executive Director; Rod Redcay (left), Executive Director of Real Life Community Services and owner of Declaration House; and Steve Batchelor, Regional Director, Community Health & Wellness, WellSpan. (Submitted photo)

Based at Ephrata Library’s Exploratorium, Northern Lancaster Hub will serve residents in need of social services by consolidating support agencies

On the one hand, Ephrata Public Library’s role as the pass-through organization of a three-year United Way grant does provide an alternative source of funding that the library is not getting from donations.

However, the slight funding boost is perhaps not what many think.

Ephrata Library will see added funds by renting office space at the Exploratorium Community Commons building (owned by the library) to agencies within the newly created Northern Lancaster Hub, many of which will occupy space in the renovated building.

The former Denver House in Denver is also in an active renovation as part of the Northern Lancaster Hub.

The total United Way award for year one of the three-year grant is $247,601, which goes directly to funding Northern Lancaster Hub

Still, Penny Talbert, Ephrata Public Library Executive Director, on May 25 nervously awaited the news on whether NLH &tstr; made up of a 17-partner collaborative &tstr; would snag one of the substantial UW grants.

After all, work on creating NLH and renovations on the Exploratorium and former Denver House had already begun.

“The funding greatly speeds up our plans to firmly institute the NLH, which addresses the needs of our community in an efficient, effective and holistic way,” Talbert said during a Sunday breakfast at an insanely packed Gus’s Keystone Family Restaurant.

The United Way’s grants &tstr; all awarded in 3-year segments ranging from $55,000 to $300,000 to 10 multi-agency partnerships &tstr; this year totaled nearly $2.2 million. They United Way does not guarantee a specific amount for years two and three but it should be comparable to year one, Talbert said.

NLH will directly address the lack of access northern Lancaster County families and individuals have to critical education and health and human service benefits from the Exploratorium, and the Declaration House, a building owned by Real Life Community Services in Denver.

So why is the library so actively involved?

“It’s really a no-brainer for us,” said Talbert. “In many ways we were already doing many of the things these agencies do. Creating the NLH so close to the library allows us to get back to our main job of providing educational material to the public. But it’s always been our goal to provide resources and to promote opportunities for everyone seeking to improve, change, enrich, and enjoy their lives.”

Still, in the long run, Talbert will continue her uphill battle to find funding to run the day-to-day operations at the library, which includes many visits to persuade local elected officials to continue to support the library.

She said much of the credit for the UW grant goes to Joy Ashley, who recently left her position at the library to become Executive Director at Ephrata Area Social Services.

Ashley said the bulk of the funding will go for capital projects happening right now.

“Our goal is to expend $300,000 from the UW for the first year to get the Hub started. It will pay for one-time expenses such as equipment, material and training,” she said. “Because these are one-time purchases, the need for UW funds will lessen over the subsequent two years of the grant.”

Ephrata Public Library also recently received an $80,000 grant from the Dart Foundation – also paid in three annual installments &tstr; for the continued renovation of the Exploratorium. The building located just south of the Library on South Reading Road is about 10,000 square feet.

Before the Library bought the building, it contained an auto shop, an ice cream parlor and low-income housing. The Library purchased the building in 2002 for the purpose of generating revenue through rental income and future expansion. Curves Fitness had leased it until 2014. Due to the size and the scope of the work the building needed in order to become usable space, Library leadership planned a five-phase renovation.

The 17-partner collaborative that make up the NLH are REAL Life Community WellSpan Health, PA CareerLink, Lancaster County Coalition to End Homelessness, Community Action Partnership, Tabor Community Services, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, WellSpan Philhaven, Ephrata Area Social Services, Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon, COBYS Family Services, Good Samaritan Services, Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership, Welsh Mountain Health Centers, The Goble Group, the Ephrata Area School District and Cocalico School District.

Talbert said the “Hub” is quickly taking shape.

“CareerLink of Lancaster County is holding career counseling sessions, the Literacy Council’s ESL presence is growing, and WellSpan Health is helping us with training and public programs. Partners are beginning to pool resources and talent,” she said.

Talbert said there are plans to address the lack of public transportation in the region by creating a shuttle service between the Exploratorium and Declaration House.

She noted that Joshua Buitrago was recently hired as Hub Coordinator.

“If the name sounds familiar, it’s because his folks own Aromas del Sur,” Talbert said. “He’s an Ephrata High graduate and has returned to the community after graduating from Penn State and then working for a while with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.”

Talbert said the groundwork is set and the framers have the opportunity to look at the experience of other similar programs.

“Thanks to the United Way Collective Impact grant, we’ve been able to fast-forward our plans and get our feet on the ground,” she said. “We’re going to be able to begin offering services much quicker, and their expertise in the Collective Impact model has ensured we’re using best practices. The fact that there are other Hubs already established in the county gives us local successes to use as guides.”

Patrick Burns is news editor for The Ephrata Review. He welcomes your questions and comments and can be reached at pburns.eph@lnpnews.com or at 717-721-4455.