Pulaski County to open Community Collaboration Center

The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors to open a hub to house the Pulaski County Office of Prevention and Recovery and collocate programs and complimenting agencies focused on building citizen wellness, encouraging community engagement, and supporting an array of prevention and recovery efforts.

The Office of Prevention and Recovery, created in the Fall of 2024, aims to empower citizens to thrive through a whole-family approach that supports connections to meaningful opportunities around a community of care. The office is centered heavily on prevention, building resilience, and overall well-being with programing that targets multiple generations with a multi-disciplinary approach. The Community Collaboration Center (CCC), opening in Summer of 2026, will serve as a shared space for the county and partners to deliver and facilitate programming, engagement, and enrichment for all ages of citizens. With a focus on meeting the needs of the entire family unit and accessibility for clients, partners within the CCC will reinvent how families access support and receive services.

Katie Thompson, Director of the Office of Prevention and Recovery shared “The Community Collaboration Center is a dream realized! When I began my work with the County, I wanted to see us improve service accessibility for our families and I wanted to see Pulaski County create a model for addressing the needs of the whole family unit. The CCC gives us the space, the breadth of services, and the provider capacity to support Pulaski County families to thrive here at home!”

The CCC is an innovative model that brings together public and private agencies, non-profits, and the faith-based community to support individuals and their families in receiving services and life skills that allow every generation to be successful, engaged, and contributory. The Center will host shared office and flex spaces and collaboratively partner with organizations to bring in a variety of programs. Services will span mental health treatment, parenting, youth mentoring, classes for enrichment (like art, cooking and nutrition), financial planning, and more. Services will be coordinated to support youth and adults being able to participate simultaneously and the Center will bridge common barriers to services like childcare, transportation, and scheduling outside of work and school hours.

Initial partnership and programs were prioritized through data analysis from partner agencies. Key needs identified include – youth access to mental health groups, life-skills and work skills development for substance and justice involved citizens, mental health services for Veterans, and post-treatment recovery services. Along with all these targeted services, the CCC will also provide coordinated case management that helps individuals navigate care systems and access programs that move them towards self-sufficiency and community engagement.

“The Community Collaboration Center further demonstrates that the Board of Supervisors is taking a holistic approach to a healthy and strong community, and they are not just focused on economic development, but looking to strengthen the underpinning of our community by supporting our at-risk and in-need citizens as well”, stated Jonathan Sweet, County

Administrator. “This new center has the unique ability to change the trajectory of lives and the legacy of generations, and our creativity and resourcefulness, coupled with our care and compassion for our citizens, will indeed prove to be a major source of hope, healing and opportunity.”

The Office of Prevention and Recovery brings together community partners to improve citizen access to mental health, prevention and recovery services, and multi-generational programs to create a thriving citizenry. The Community Collaboration Center will serve as a force-multiplier for those citizens and partners to build our economy and create a healthy future for all of Pulaski County.