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LISBON -- Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries recently unveiled plans to locate not just a retail space, but also a hub for workforce training, employment support and access to social and community services on Fifth Street in East Liverpool.
"We like to say we're more than a store," Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries CEO Shelley Murray said during a recent presentation to Columbiana County commissioners.
According to Murray, it's been a two-year journey, creating an action plan and looking at barriers affecting the workforce and now they're excited to bring what they're calling a community solutions campus to East Liverpool.
Carol Holmes-Chambers, Vice President of Community Workforce Development for Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries, said they know there are barriers for workforce participation, such as transportation. They looked at the barriers, the why and the what and convened stakeholders to explore what services could be provided to people. The planners also looked at what services are hard to access.
The plan is to create a one-stop shop for workforce development and training and access to more community services known as the East Liverpool Hub.
"I'm sure it will be beneficial to not only East Liverpool, but the whole county," Commissioner Tim Ginter said.
According to a fact sheet, the Goodwill location will include a store on the first floor targeted to open mid to late fall and the second floor East Liverpool Hub will be developed after the store is operational, in early 2027. The location is expected to create 20-25 jobs for the community at the store and hub. Goodwill stores are currently located in Calcutta and Salem, but not in East Liverpool.
Holmes-Chamber said they identified East Liverpool as a place where there were issues related to workforce and they knew it would be a great place to do something to provide services to the community. She said they're talking to community leaders and engaging with service organizations.
The fact sheet that describes the East Liverpool Satellite Hub said it will be a featured pilot and anchor site for expanding the model of a Community Solutions Campus to rural and underserved communities, with the hub creating "a centralized, local access point for support, stabilization and opportunity."
The description said the East Liverpool hub will do the following: provide workforce training and employment support; integrate a retail and donation center with mission services to support sustainability; offer space for community partners delivering wraparound supports; reduce the need for long-distance travel to access essential services; and be shaped by local voices to reflect community-specific needs and priorities.
To learn more about Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries going out into the communities, visit goodwillyoungstown.org and click on community impact.