After 20 years of community service, the Michael W. Prenger Family Center is celebrating the anniversary by opening its doors to the public for the day.
An open house has been scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Oct. 16, at 400 Stadium Drive.
Although the facility doesn't have a long history in the community, it has played an important role in turning around the lives of the troubled pre-teens and teenagers who have passed through its door, Director Michael Couty said.
Although the center serves a variety of needs - and has grown increasingly more proactive in addressing families' needs - it primarily is a licensed residential care center that provides both temporary and longer-term shelter for up to 14 young people, many of whom have suffered physical injury, sexual abuse or emotional harm.
In addition, the center serves as the juvenile detention facility for Cole and surrounding counties. The young people served in the detention unit are primarily juveniles who commit acts that if committed by adults, would be crimes. As part of the restorative justice process, many of the residents are assigned community service.
The building also serves as the Juvenile Office for the 19th Circuit Court.
The original juvenile facility was built in the late 1970s, after Cole County became a second-class county and it was mandatory. The first facility opened at 408 Russell St. and was named the Sam C. Blair Center after the first juvenile court judge.
That building was destroyed by fire in 1992.
In April 1994, the Michael W. Prenger Family Center opened, and was dedicated on Oct. 16, 1994.
With the permission of the Blair family, the new facility was renamed for Prenger, a beloved juvenile officer who had suffered a heart attack and died during the rebuilding process.
"He worked tirelessly to get the center rebuilt," said Couty. "And he worked very closely with the Housing Authority (to secure) temporary quarters. It really was a smooth transition."
Couty noted that the facility's services have changed over the years, but the mission has remained the same.
The center typically is home to 10 to 11 pre-teen or teenage people. It became a longer-term home for teens needing residential care in 2008, but the longest students tend to stay is 12-14 months.
"They were going three to four counties away," he said, noting those distances were too far for the residents to access the treatment services they needed.
He said many of the residents have behavioral challenges, but the staff's job is to help them start making appropriate choices.
Over the years, Couty said he's seen residents turn their lives around with the Prenger Center's help.
"We have ones who are in college or with families of their own and doing well," he said.