10 years on Main Street – Celebrating a decade of Supporting the Community.

Last Updated on Monday, 24 August 2009 02:45 Written by Administrator Monday, 24 August 2009 02:43

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As I look at the buildings coming down Main Street and gain more knowledge about the history of Union City, I realize the town and the Union City Family Support Center have had a similar story.  From the days of Miles Mills to present, this quaint community has rolled along like the French Creek, so close to its roots.  It has grown up, developed, faced hurdles and then reinvented itself.  From the original saw mill in the early 1800’s, to the blacksmith shop and the grist mill that developed shortly after.  Then the many factories, lumber mills and furniture manufacturers that have come and gone.  Each time the community grew up while still continuing to “retain many of its traditional qualities.”  The community grew so much that Union City was once known as “The Chair Center of the World”.   

 

Unfortunately those days are long gone, but there are many in this community that are looking for the future and the next level.  The Union City Family Support Center is feeling some of the same growing pains and some of the same anxieties of what lies ahead.  In the ten years on Main Street, the center has gone through some of its own transformations and struggles.  Yet here we are today at the crossroads of change and find ourselves in a very good place.  In the heart of this small community, the center is growing up and getting back to the vision of the founders which was to be the premier provider of services to meet the needs of this rural community.  With the addition of strong, evidenced based programming and expansion of the areas we serve, the Union City Family Support Center has reinvented itself and transformed to meet the times.  Just as the Gathering at French Creek is a festival that celebrates Union City's historic background of being a gathering place at the crossroads.  The center celebrates itself at a crossroads and hopes to bring people together and be a positive part of the Union City Community.

 

In the past ten years the Union City Family Support Center has provided many resources for the community.  In the last two years the center has expanded drastically and we have doubled our staff.  The center is growing with vital programming that will benefit many families and children in Southeast Erie County.  The center is currently at full capacity, yet many providers are requesting space to provide even more quality programming in this area.  As we head in to the next ten years, we continue the commitment to meet the community’s needs and to expand as these needs increase.  The center has already renovated and expanded space and plans are already under way for major renovation to utilize the second and third floors of the building.  With the commitment from the community we know that we will be successful and will continue to provide quality services to Southeast Erie County.