For the 90 children living at the Southside Homeless Shelter,
the recent completion of a 4,000-square-foot playground is a step,
and a swing, closer to escaping the hardship of poverty.
On Wednesday, Community Services Development Corp. will host a
dedication ceremony for the $65,000 project. The playground
– which includes five different pieces of equipment and a
playhouse – has been planned since March 2002, according to Brian
Abbott, executive director of CSDC.
For the 90 children living at the Southside Homeless Shelter, the recent completion of a 4,000-square-foot playground is a step, and a swing, closer to escaping the hardship of poverty.
On Wednesday, Community Services Development Corp. will host a dedication ceremony for the $65,000 project. The playground – which includes five different pieces of equipment and a playhouse – has been planned since March 2002, according to Brian Abbott, executive director of CSDC.
He said the county agency is expecting about 100 guests for the 11:30 a.m. ceremony, including several government officials, donors and families of the shelter.
CSDC initially decided to build the new playground because a state law had been passed that requires government-operated playgrounds “to meet certain standards,” according to Abbott.
The shelter’s old playground was donated by McDonald’s and it lacked the appropriate safety and protective features.
The new playground has a teeter-totter, swing set, spider climber (a pole with bars), slides, a two-story playhouse and a center-piece that includes slides, climbing bars, rings and a platform. It includes safer equipment and a softer ground surface covered by “engineered bark.”
Aside from meeting the safety mandates from the state, Abbott said the new playground should help curb a lack of physical and social development commonly experienced by homeless kids.
“There’s really not a lot for the kids to do,” Abbott said. “What happens, kids who are homeless often don’t attend school. There isn’t as much socializing with kids because there aren’t neighborhoods around. We’ve made it a much more pleasant environment.”
CSDC didn’t do it alone, though. Several agencies and businesses donated money or services to the project. San Benito County contributed $18,000 and the City of Hollister gave $10,000.
About $55,000 of donated funding went toward the project, and Abbott said about an additional $10,000 in services were performed at no charge. In all, nearly 20 agencies, organizations and businesses took part.
Wednesday’s ceremony, Abbott said, “essentially, is recognizing all the donors and giving them a chance to see the results.”
CSDC operates the homeless shelter year-round, while families can stay for a maximum of six months. The facility includes 16 mobile homes that house about 150 people. It is separate from the Southside Migrant Labor Camp, which is not open year-round and accommodates migrant workers during the peak agricultural season.
