Grant to help make center more accessible to disabled

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A $200,000 federal grant will provide the elderly and those with disabilities access to the upper floor of an East Side community center.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, obtained the money for the McGuffey Centre through the federal Transportation/Treasury/Housing and Urban Development spending bill.
The two-story center will use the money to install an elevator as well as restrooms and water fountains on the upper floor, said Jennifer Cousin Miller, its executive director. Also, the center will install new entryways with the federal dollars, she said.
The center's upper floor is underutilized, Miller said, because the only way to get there is to climb the stairs. With the money, the center will be fully handicap-accessible.
At a Tuesday event at the center, Ryan said the federal grant will free up the McGuffey Centre's financial resources for other purposes.
The center provides socialization, exercise, programs and transportation for senior citizens, and after-school, reading, life skills and summer programs for youth and teens. It also has family support programs including parenting, computer classes, health and wellness programs, financial management, entrepreneurship and employment training. More than 1,200 people use the services annually at the 65-year-old center.
Councilman Rufus Hudson, D-2nd, said the money will help the center be strong and viable, and make it easier for people to use its services. Hudson went to camp and participated in other programs at the center as a child and worked there while attending college.