Child and Family Support Center makes plans for additional sight in Logan

After a zoning conflict, the Child and Family Support Center, a Cache County organization focused on strengthening families and protecting children, was given permission in March to build a new center in Logan.

The new 100,000-square-foot building, financed by the center’s benefactor of the year, Belva Hansen, will be located in the Bridger neighborhood and construction is estimated to start in October.

According to Lynn Nelson, an associate director for the center, the main reason for the additional location in Logan was the lack of space at the current center for the needed expansion.

“The question becomes, how do we build something here? There’s not enough room to remodel and provide the parking we need. This piece of ground isn’t big enough to do what we need to do,” Nelson said.

Esterlee Molyneux, the center’s executive director, said one of the main reasons for the selected location is its relativity to Main Street, a bus stop close by and the surrounding service-oriented agencies.

According to Nelson, the center has seen a surge in the number of people wanting to get help, but due to lack of room they are unable to give them the necessary immediate attention they are seeking.

“You see people who have heard about the programs and want to get into the class and get put on a waiting list,” Nelson said. “Then all of a sudden their names are coming through on the abuse side. They recognize they have a potential problem and before we get them in, something sad happens.”

Both Molyneux and Nelson said they are hoping to fix this problem with the additional building.

The center’s original plan was just to expand out to Hyrum, where a center is currently under construction. Because of the number of clients in Logan, Nelson said there was an evident demand for an additional location close to the original building to ensure enough space and resources for all the clients in Logan.