The Fayette County Counseling Center has called several locations “home” since its inception in 1980 when the first full-time administrator, Cathy Johnson, opened for service. The center is a part of the McIntosh Trail Community Service Board, whose headquarters are in Griffin.
County Commission Chairman Jack Smith in opening remarks at the ceremony said that four years ago he was approached by the current administrator, Jane Fanslow, who suggested that a new and bigger office was desperately needed. A community partnership ensued and property on South Bradley Drive, the former location of an old Department of Transportation building, became the site of the new counseling center.
Square Foot Ministries, a ministry of the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church, was asked to build the facility. Its first major project had been the construction of the Fayette Samaritans building.
“This is a 4,000-square-foot building and its cost of $450,000 is now paid in full. It was paid with hard work, a lot of prayer, and people choosing to show up to work when they were supposed to,” said Square Foot Vice President Craig Wiley.
Wiley mentioned that Capt. Pete Nelms, county EMS coordinator-public relations officer, was super helpful in finding needed materials. “If Square Foot needed it, Capt. Pete could always find it,” Wiley added.
Wiley also added that the project had been titled “Legacy Build.” He said that a legacy is the future our children will live in, even though we may not.
Many hundreds of individuals helped with the project along with several municipal departments and generous businesses.
The new office building contains five counseling offices, a large family counseling room, a group substance abuse meeting room, and a doctor’s office. There are three psychologists who visit at various times throughout the month.
The center had seen 718 consumers in 2009, spending a total of 6,494 hours with the consumers. The center accepts Medicare and Medicaid, and works with those with no insurance at all, by providing a sliding payment scale based on their income.
The event was best summed up by the Square Foot officers, “This is a real cool deal.”
The counseling center is located at 715 Bradley Drive. It can be reached by phoning 770-358-5252.
