Spectrum of Solutions hosted a grand-opening celebration on March 5, 2024.
Three Midland nonprofit organizations are wrapping up major building projects and moving into new spaces this spring. Spectrum of Solutions celebrated its new administrative offices with a grand-opening ceremony on March 5. Safe Place of the Permian Basin moved into its new Andrews Highway facility in February, and Senior Life plans to start operating from its new building in late March. Scharbauer Foundation was honored to be involved with all of these projects.
As Midland continues to grow, so do these organizations that have served the community for decades. Congratulations to Spectrum of Solutions, Safe Place, and Senior Life for completing years-long projects and preparing to serve more Midlanders in the future.
Spectrum of Solutions kicked off a capital campaign in 2019 to improve its A Street campus. The nonprofit recently celebrated the completion of its five-year $7.6 million project with a grand-opening ceremony at the new Anwar Family Inspiration Center. The 16,000-sf building will act as the hub of Spectrum’s daily operations with staff offices, and space for trainings and meetings. Campus improvements also included construction of a 2,500-sf day-use building to serve clients with severe disabilities, and an overhaul of the newly named Inspiration Park.
Formerly known as MARC, Spectrum of Solutions started in 1959 as a school for children with disabilities. The organization now offers therapy, intervention, parental support, residential and vocational opportunities, and a daily enrichment program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. From diagnosis of neurodevelopmental differences such as autism or ADHD, Spectrum works with families to provide therapy programs including Applied Behavioral Analysis, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, and Music Therapy. Spectrum serves adults with disabilities by helping match individuals with employment opportunities, offering residential programs with varying levels of care, and providing a day center for adults with severe disabilities.
After purchasing 9.8 acres of land on Andrews Highway in summer 2015 and raising nearly $25 million, Safe Place broke ground on its new facility in fall 2021. Serving survivors of family violence in 15 West Texas counties, Safe Place operates a 24-hour hotline and an emergency shelter for victims and their children that includes meals, clothing, hygiene items, baby supplies, and emergency transportation. The nonprofit also provides counseling and legal advocacy for survivors, and education for community members. All services for victims are provided at no cost.
The former Safe Place shelter, built in 1987, had 15 bedrooms and eight shared bathrooms. Now located within a secure gated parking lot, the new shelter features 24 bedrooms each with a private bathroom, private counseling spaces, and separation between residential services and outpatient counseling. The new facility will allow Safe Place to provide shelter and non-residential services to more survivors while prioritizing their privacy and security.
In fall 2022, Senior Life broke ground on a new facility that will accommodate Meals on Wheels, as well as Senior Life’s other programs, while providing office space for staff and room to grow. Until its $15 million capital campaign for a new building, Senior Life Midland operated out of the former home of the Fuhrman-Vogel family that was gifted to the nonprofit in the late 1980s. Senior Life plans to move into its new space in late March.
Founded in 1974, Senior Life works to address the challenges of aging and help older Midlanders maintain good health, dignity, and independence. Services for homebound seniors include Meals on Wheels, which provided more than 131,000 hot meals for 840 seniors in 2023. In addition to Meals on Wheels, the Handyman Program helps seniors safely live at home by completing home repairs or installing features such as grab bars, wheelchair ramps, or fire and carbon monoxide detectors; and the One Day at a Time program addresses on a case-by-case basis some of the challenges facing low-income homebound seniors.
Senior Life also offers programs to help active seniors engage in the community through volunteer work at local nonprofits, in schools, or serving other seniors in the community.
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