After closing last year, the Dunbar Center, a community center in Syracuse’s Southside, has recently reopened and its services are slowly returning.

The Dunbar Center is a community-based center committed to providing comprehensive services and leadership that promote successful families and communities. The center is based around the needs of the surrounding community. It was first founded for African-Americans in the Syracuse area, and over the years has changed to include people of all backgrounds, said Chandice Haste-Jackson, the interim executive director of the Dunbar Center.

The center’s funding was cut by 10 percent in 2008 and 2009 because of the recession, and it closed temporarily on Oct. 31, 2013. Moving forward, the center hopes to slowly begin to restore its services while figuring out a plan to fully fund the center, Haste-Jackson said.

When the center closed, all of its services were suspended. There was no longer a senior program, which helped senior citizens with nutrition and socializing. The after-school program, food pantry, family counseling and parent success initiative programs were also cut. Now that the center has recently reopened, these services are slowly returning.

The center has now re-established its senior and after-school programs and it is currently working on setting up a food drive, Haste-Jackson said.

“Right now, we are looking at restructuring the board of directors,” she said. “Although the center isn’t out of debt, the current board of directors has worked out a plan and looked at how they can restore funding.”

In the past, the center has received funding that ranged from $5,000 to as high as $250,000. Some funding was pulled, which resulted in the center closing, she said.

“We got contracts with as much as $250,000 that were pulled and have left serious holes in operating the Dunbar Center,” Haste-Jackson said.

The Dunbar Center still has a lot of work to do, Haste-Jackson said. The building has to be re-inspected, and a fundraiser was held to connect with people in the community to gain support. With help from the Syracuse Community Health Center, the board members and donors in the community, the Dunbar Center was able to reopen, Haste-Jackson said.

When the Dunbar Center initially opened its doors in 1918, the community held receptions, weddings and baby showers, she said. As time progressed, it became a site for education, voter drives, civil rights movements and other organizations for change, Haste-Jackson added.

As times have changed, programing has focused on different sides of the community. The Dunbar Center has focused on gun violence, started mental health programs and has a strong partnership with Syracuse University and other agencies around Syracuse, Haste-Jackson said.

“Over the years, we have tried to be a central hub for addressing the needs of the community,” she said.

Jacqueline Warren, a volunteer at the Dunbar Center, has been working there since the center reopened.

“I grew up in Syracuse and have been coming to the Dunbar Center since I was a kid,” Warren said. “I think the center should remain open to get kids out of the street and give them a place to go.”

On Tuesdays and Thursdays Warren works as a receptionist. She works with the youth the rest of the week, helping them with homework and coloring activities. The Dunbar Center also has a gym where children can play basketball and jump rope.

“The kids are excited to come here,” said Warren. “This place keeps them safe.”

Published on October 15, 2014 at 12:01 am