A local community action agency is working to open a new center that will offer education, business support and mental health services.
Culture Ministries DBA The Rock of Lafayette is offering services to the Lafayette community and working on a youth center that will give kids with education, support and encouragement. The center will be located at 707 Martin Luther King Drive in Lafayette.
Among the services offered will be low income home energy assistance, low income rental assistance, emergency assistance programs, business consulting services, mental health education services, job placement services, criminal justice reform; state of the art computer technology center, tutoring services, school supplies assistance, recreational spaces, mediation spaces, and more.
"We are a community action agency and youth center dedicated to making a positive impact in lower income communities in Lafayette," a release states. "We help individuals find their purpose and become the best versions of themselves through educational services, business consulting, and mental health services. Our work is geared toward promoting self-improvement and independence giving them life changing values for permanent change instead of just temporary."
The aim is to find each person's strengths, and support them in building on them.
"As an organization we strive to provide assistance to those in this world that exist in lower economic geographical areas; however if we do not change the negative mentality of some of the people that exist in these communities then it is our youth who will continue to suffer from these same negative ideals that are being instilled in them," the release states. "When children grow, they get taller, heavier, and stronger each year. Rocks also grow bigger, heavier, and stronger. This is the reason we want to build this foundation, as the Rock of Lafayette."
The youth community action center will be at 707 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Organizers say they hope the center will become a safe haven for kids in the neighborhood.
"With the direction the world is heading, many kids in lower economic areas will continue to suffer due to lack of access to technology, such as internet access, or a bleak home environment, which may include a lack of structure," the release states. "Covid-19 has in some way impacted everyone by affecting some aspect of our daily lives. We will be there as a support system to lift some of those burdens. The Rock of Lafayette will employ licensed teachers, coaches, mental health professionals, as well as tutors to assist with what is needed in addition to and/or beyond the traditional brick and mortar schools. Our state-of-the-art computer technology center will ensure the individuals that we service will receive a quality education. This center will include meditation, meditation, technology, mental health, athletics, and artistic services. The Rock of Lafayette will also offer business consulting services to guarantee that everyone has a fair chance in this society."
Culture Ministries Director Brittany Autrey says the center's staff hopes to "identify the best in people and lead them to the discovery of their purpose."
"We want to be able to provide the resources they're not able to reach, we want them to have that here."
If you'd like more information about the programs, or maybe you'd like to help, visit the agency's website here.
