by Daniel Moore Press Staff Writer
Superintendent Randy Jensen had never heard of a “commu- nity school model” when he spearheaded a community edu- cation center at the American Falls School District Offices three years ago. He soon dis- covered his bright idea – for the district to provide a place for social services – was also being formulated at schools across the nation. They are now part of a consortium of schools doing the same thing.
With the remodel and expan- sion of what would become the J.R. Simplot Elementary School, the district offices suddenly had more space in their building. Jensen thought using as a place for local agencies to meet clients would be a good fit. Since then, a half-dozen agencies or more have met people at the building.
A year before establishing the community education center, the district first dipped its toes in the social services realm by hiring Angie Harker to provide community development for the district. A good part of her job is helping and serving students
in transitionary housing – stu- dents who might be living with relatives, with other families, or outright not have a home. She is also finishing her degree in counseling, partly because there is such a need for counselors among those she works with.
The benefit to the commu- nity education center, Harker and Jensen said, is really having multiple services in one loca- tion, and having that location be in the middle of town, where it is easily accessible. Harker said the building, which was part of the old high school and part of the American Falls Intermedi- ate School is a familiar place to people, and makes it easier for them to get help.
A program that has been on hold since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Op- portunity Community Program, is starting back up at the loca- tion this year. The Opportunity Community Program links those in poverty with mentors, called “navigators” in the program, to help people in poverty help themselves leave the poverty situation.
Two recent additions to the center are nonprofits that are based in Pocatello, but were looking to expand and found American Falls to be a good fit. Those include NeighborWorks Pocatello, which provides a variety of housing help, from mobile home repair grants to fund- ing new housing projects in the area. Other services NeighborWorks include down payment assistance, closing cost assistance, and homebuyer education. NeighborWorks Pocatello uses the community cen- ter as a place to meet with potential patrons. They can be contacted at 208-232- 9468.
It also includes The Po- catello Free Clinic, which provides free medical care for those without insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Its patrons could include those who are undocu- mented migrants, Harker said, but could also include those whose work does not offer insurance, or the elderly who cannot afford the Medicare co-pay. They provide bilingual services
for medical, dental, chiro- practic, women’s health, diabetes, prescriptions and laboratory work. They also provide free mental health and counseling. There are not enough counselors to go around in American Falls, and so it is provid- ing a necessary service, especially one that is hard to find Spanish speaking providers, Harker said. The Pocatello Free Clinic can be contacted for appoint- ments on 208-233-6245.
One of the earliest or- ganizations to move to the community center was Idaho State University’s Adult Education. The cen- ter there offers a variety of adult educational services, like earning a General Edu- cation Diploma and a high school equivalency degree, college preparation, career guidance, learning English and more. They have online courses and meet flexible schedules with small class- es. More information can be obtained by contacting the Pocatello office at 208- 282-2468.
Also offering prepara- tion for GED or a high school equivalency degree, but in Spanish, is the Com- munity Council of Idaho.
The Community Council of Idaho also offers rental assistance and other pro- grams for low-income people. A representative from their organization comes out once a week. They can be contacted at (208) 524-0980.
And those programs are the only ones offering ca- reer help. On each Tuesday, an Idaho Department of La- bor representative comes to help people apply for jobs, create resumes, or receive unemployment benefits. They can be reached at 208-236-6710 to set up an appointment. The Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will also provide services there.
There are many other organizations that use the facility, Harker said, from the district offering parent- ing classes in Spanish, to use of the center’s comput- er lab with an appointment. The Southeast Idaho Coun- cil of Governments also will send representatives to the building to help with community grant writing or for elderly assistance.