Aleida Jacobo held a pair of huge scissors as she stood in front of the new Wesley House Family Services building. As Jacobo, the CEO of Wesley House, got ready for a formal ribbon-cutting on November 14, the excitement was growing.
Staff and board members flanked her. At night, the group and the building behind them were illuminated by dazzling lights. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Wesley House in the Upper Keys was witnessed by a sea of community supporters.
Wesley House recently inaugurated the new facility, which is housed in the former Lions Club at 5 Homestead Ave. New offices, a sizable conference room, and family visitation facilities were visible to the community. During an open house, they also enjoyed food, cocktails, and entertainment.
Wesley House, a nonprofit organization that supports families and children in the Florida Keys, is now well-known in the neighborhood, something Jacobo has long desired.
Wesley House used to be located at the bank building at MM 99.4, which is across the street. According to Jacobo, employees have been employed there since 2005, but nobody was aware of their presence because there were no signs.
According to Jacobo, everyone said we were the best-kept secret.
Wesley House has outgrown its previous Key Largo facility because the majority of its employees now reside in the Upper Keys or on the mainland. Wesley House purchased the Lions Club building in 2022. Although it wasn’t for sale when Wesley House started looking for a larger location, rumors circulated that the club could think about selling it.
We are unable to say, “We don’t have enough staff, and we can’t help you today.” We must solve the problem and make it work. Jacobo stated that this building helps with that.
Wesley House is no longer a secret to those in Key Largo, Tavernier, and Islamorada, as its name is prominently displayed on the new structure. Jacobo expressed her excitement about creating a new area for the about fifty employees that work in the Upper Keys. Wesley House, which also maintains an office in Key West, provides foster care and child welfare services, adoption assistance, and parenting and healthy living programs.
I want the employees to feel appreciated and that the services they offer are vital. Jacobo stated that although we are not formally regarded as essential, we actually are. We still had to visit people’s houses to make sure they were okay when the pandemic struck. In order to assist first responders in caring for their children during the pandemic, the Inez Martin Center in Key Wet remained open.
Family intervention/prevention services for families at risk of abuse and neglect have grown over the years, as have programs for expecting parents and infants in the Upper Keys. Additionally, there is the Healthy Families Program, which gives young families resources to support the health and development of their children, create loving homes, and make sure their families’ social and medical requirements are satisfied.
Two visitation rooms in the new structure provide secure spaces for parents who want to get back together with their kids. According to Jacobo, supervised visits are the first step in the process of reuniting families at Wesley House. Staff can keep an eye on the visitation in the next observation room.
“We have cameras watching so we don’t have someone sitting in front of families and we let them interact normally,” she said. Most of the time, we allow families to be with their children, but in some extreme circumstances, we must be present.
Both parents and children can enjoy the toys and activities in the rooms. Members of United Women in Faith participated in a Doll Project, a statewide initiative to raise awareness of racism, by donating multicultural dolls to Wesley House.
Plans are underway for an industrial-sized playground outside that will provide families and kids with a typical experience outside of a room.
In addition to providing services to families in the Keys, the new facility will have a spacious meeting room that can accommodate community organizations.
It’s amazing to see how accepting the community is of us and our cause, Jacobo stated.
According to Jacobo, employees should start working at the new location within the coming weeks.
Jim McCarthy and Cindy Smith took the pictures.
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