Media Release

ALACHUA COUNTY, FL – The Alachua County Commission, the Southwest Advocacy Group (SWAG), and the Partnership for Strong Families (PSF) are pleased to announce the Ribbon Cutting for the SWAG Family Resource Center. The event will take place on Thursday, June 28, 2012, at 1:30 p.m., at the Center (807 SW 64th Terrace, Gainesville), and will feature speakers, and a guided tour of the facility.  The public is invited and encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served.

The SWAG Family Resource Center developed after SWAG went to the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) to ask for help. The BoCC allocated $225,000 to purchase and renovate two buildings in the Southwest community. Renovations on the Family Resource Center started on February 13, and were completed on May 18.  The Rotary Clubs of Gainesville Foundation awarded the project $57,000 for furnishings, appliances, and computers.  Partnership for Strong Families (PSF) provides a full-time manager to run the facility. 

“This is a great example of partners and stakeholders joining with government to address the needs of citizens,” commented County Manager Rick Drummond. “It is amazing and heartening to see what a single minded group of people can accomplish when they have the determination and patience to pursue the collaboration necessary to make this kind of project a reality.”

“I am so grateful for everyone who stepped forward to help us get to where we are now,” said Katie Fields, SWAG Family Resource Center Manager. “It has been very impactful to see the community embrace this facility now that our doors are open.  We even had a twelve-year old boy ask his mom if he could donate his old books after he came to SWAG and saw our children’s library.”

“We are thrilled with the results of this renovation project and to see the vision come to fruition and begin making a real impact,” said Shawn Salamida, President/CEO of Partnership for Strong Families. “We are glad to partner with SWAG and the County to make this dream a reality and to see the impact meeting this community’s needs has on improving outcomes for our most vulnerable children.”

SWAG is a community-based organization that strives to improve living conditions, educational opportunities, and quality of life for residents in the Tower Road corridor just west of I-75 in the 32607 zip code.

Partnership for Strong Families is the lead community-based care agency for Florida Judicial Circuits Three and Eight, including Alachua County.  PSF is contracted by the Florida Department of Children and Families to deliver comprehensive child welfare services to children who are victims of abuse and neglect. Partnership for Strong Families also works with at-risk families to prevent child abuse and to decrease the risk of children entering the foster care system. PSF serves more than 5,000 children in 13 counties annually.

Click to learn more about SWAG.

Click to learn more about Partnership for Strong Families.

Learn more about the Rotary Clubs of Gainesville Foundation.

View other Renovation Partners.

For more information, contact the Alachua County Communications Office at 352-264-6979.

If any accommodations are needed for persons with disabilities, please contact the Equal Opportunity Office at (352) 374-5275 or (352) 374-5284 TDD.