Ged Programs Western Washington

Bridge-area makeover in slow lane: College plans community outreach center

When a strong rain floods the streets near the Cooper River Court public housing project where Samantha Smalls lives, the water remains for days.

The nearby land where the old Cooper River bridges once touched down is still empty, despite the city's ambitious plan to bring back to life the area between Morrison Drive and Cooper, Lee and Meeting streets. Construction was to begin on new stores, offices and 350 homes in 2007, then in 2009.

Smalls, who grew up on Charleston's East Side, said she's not surprised that 2011 is coming to a close and little has happened. "In this neighborhood, promises get broken," she said.

One bright spot on the horizon for the area is a new community center on the southwest corner of America and Lee streets, construction on which will begin in about a year. South Carolina State University will build the center with federal money designated for such community outreach efforts.

The center will offer GED classes, health information, nutrition education and other services the community needs, said Delbert Foster, the university's extension administrator for outreach programs.

One afternoon last week, Smalls sat on a plastic chair outside her home, less than a block from the proposed community center.

She hadn't heard that a community center was in the works, but she liked the idea of having more services in the neighborhood. "Most people around here don't have transportation," she said.

She hopes the center offers programs for children, who she thinks get in trouble if they don't have enough recreational activities. And she thinks offering GED classes will serve many of her neighbors.

Smalls graduated from high school, and thinks education is important. "If kids see their parents learning, they'll be more likely to finish school," she said.

Plans stalled

Progress has been made in the area, said Tim Keane, director of planning, preservation and sustainability for the city of Charleston. The old bridges had isolated the neighborhood from the rest of the city, but new roads have been built that "re-knitted" it back into the fabric of Charleston. Other roads have been repaired and some work has been completed on drainage problems. "Before that, it was just a wasteland," he said.

Gloucester County College introduces hybrid for GED classes

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