New north Columbia ‘Empowerment’ center to help neighborhood address poverty’s effects
An organization that connects police with communities and fights against gun violence is adding to its approach to boost predominantly Black neighborhoods in Columbia.
“We can’t leave it to the cops, and we can’t leave it to lawmakers. They can’t do it all,” said Perry Bradley, founder of Building Better Communities. “We have to start training the community to do it themselves and to get themselves out of the situation they’re in.”
Thursday, Building Better Communities opened its first “Community Empowerment Center” in the Colony Apartments in north Columbia.
The center is located at 3545 West Beltline Blvd., Ste B.
The center will be “implementing several new programs to help fight racism, poverty and gun violence in much needed communities,” Bradley said in a statement.
Kids will be able to get help with school work and find other educational opportunities at the center, Bradley said. The center will also provide financial and life skills training for people of all ages as well as be a base for improvement and beautification projects for the Colony Apartments. The goal is for the center to focus on people living the Colony Apartments, but no one will be turned away.
“Our goal is to work hand in hand with the community to address the unprecedented social, economic and public health challenges before us,” said Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who spoke at Thursday’s opening. “This is a significant step forward in a proud yet still challenged community in our city.”
Conflict resolution and providing resources to address poverty are going to be two focuses of the center, Bradley said. Both are ways to address gun violence, one of Building Better Communities’ primary objectives.
“Opening a community center at the Colony Apartments shows this organization’s level of commitment to improving the quality of life of Richland County citizens,” Richland Sheriff Leon Lott said. “We look forward to our continued work with BBC to help provide a safe environment for our young kids and help break the cycle of violence.”
North Columbia has historically struggled with gun violence and has the highest violent crime rate in Columbia, authorities have repeatedly said. But the area is going through something of a renaissance of identity with community leaders looking for solutions to problems and redefining the community as one changing for the better.
The Community Empowerment Center is part of that change, according to Bradley.
“When we have more, we do more to protect it,” he said.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 2:56 PM.