Mansfield Mission Center staff and management lined up, digging their shovels into the ground and gleefully throwing dirt in the air, to celebrate the nonprofit’s next mission: accessibility and resources all found in one place.
The Mansfield Mission Center officially broke ground Feb. 5 on its new “central campus” location. The center has served the Mansfield community for 12 years, helping those in need of appointments with affordable doctors, clothing and free groceries.
However, due to different services being spread across Mansfield, executive director of Mansfield Mission Center Brian McFadden says customers often seek help at the wrong location.
“I’m not exaggerating, every day, someone goes to the wrong location. They come to the market looking for their doctor’s appointment, or they come to our clinic looking to pick up food,” McFadden said. “Families are already frustrated. They’re already in a crisis. Now they’re having to drive to a different location and, with gas at a premium, it’s not an easy thing for them to do.”
McFadden said they are calling the new location the “compassion corner” of Mansfield, and hope to broaden their accessibility to those in need of services. The campus will be equipped with a thrift store, food market, a training facility and a medical office.
Michael Evans, the mayor of Mansfield, said the expansion is occurring in what used to be known as the city’s poorest sector. Evans said he watched the nonprofit support thousands of Mansfield residents, and knows that the expansion will further its position as a staple for the Mansfield community.
“It brings about a balance in the city. You don’t want to be in a city where you just have the have and have nots. You want a city where everybody has an opportunity to do well,” Evans said. “A center like this helps young people, helps children, and those children become adults. Those adults have families. So it builds people up from the roots all the way up.”
Hector Bolanos said the services that the nonprofit provided when he first arrived in the U.S. as a Mexican immigrant gave him stability.
“I’d just moved from Mexico, like, nine years ago, and I used to work at Walmart. And at some point, I was like ‘This is not enough money,’” Bolanos said. “So somebody told me about the mission, and I just came here asking for food. Then I saw what people (were) doing over here. And I just became a volunteer.”
After volunteering at the center for three months, Bolanos was offered a full-time job as the thrift store manager and is now the food market manager. He shared that he’s excited for the new building to come into fruition, and for more people to know that the space isn’t only a food pantry but has so much more to offer.
“We tell our neighbors who come to us for help that there’s no shame in asking for help, that we all go through different seasons, and they’re in the season to receive,” McFadden said. “I think healthy communities have services like we do, and there’s no shame in asking for help. It’s just part of society.”
Bianca Rodriguez-Mora is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at bianca@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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