LLCU and the City of Decatur host joint opening ceremony at the site of a joint neighborhood revitalization project

LLCU and the City of Decatur host joint opening ceremony at the site of a joint neighborhood revitalization project

DECATUR, IL (August 15, 2024) — During a ribbon-cutting ceremony jointly held today by Land of Lincoln Credit Union (LLCU) and the City of Decatur, the final product of a year-long community effort to revitalize the neighborhood and promote community welfare was unveiled. The initiative began with LLCU donating a house and property (on Union Street in Decatur) to the City of Decatur to be used as a single-family home for homeless families seeking transitional housing through the Empowerment Opportunity Center. To make the home livable, a major community collaboration began involving LLCU, the City of Decatur, Richland Community College Workforce Development, Decatur Trades & Labor Assembly, Shemilah Community Outreach and the Empowerment Opportunity Center. All parties contributed resources and expertise to the project to make the home occupancy-ready.

Remarks on the project were made by Decatur City Councilwoman Pat McDaniel, City of Decatur Director of Economic and Community Development Cordaryl “Pat” Patrick, LLCU President and CEO Robert Ares, and Tara Murray, Executive Director of the Decatur Empowerment Opportunity Center.

“To successfully do community renewal, we need to partner with the right partners in the community,” said Cordaryl “Pat” Patrick of the City of Decatur. “Today is not necessarily about this house, but about how many partners in our community have come together to invest in people.”

“I want to thank the community partners who have come together to change Decatur, one home at a time,” said Robert Ares, president and CEO of LLCU. “The promise of this project is that the citizens who will live in this home may feel helpless at times, but because of this effort, they will not feel hopeless.”

“This project is a true example of how community partners can come together to help the people we serve feel empowered and independent,” said Tara Murray, executive director of the Empowerment Center of Decatur.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the keys to the house were handed over to the Empowerment Opportunity Center and once the facility is complete, a family will move in.