Pastor working to create community center

Eric Ewell is hoping his efforts will transform lives in Duquesne and the surrounding area.

By VENASIA SETTLES and KYLE NELSON
McKeesport Community Newsroom

The Phyllis R. Ewell Resource and Recreation Center in Duquesne.
Kyle Nelson/ McKeesport Community Newsroom

Pastor Eric Ewell has been thinking about how he can strengthen his community.

“We used to have that love of connection and care in our community in Duquesne,” said Ewell, director of Divine Restoration Outreach & Ministries. “We want to be able to create that space again in the community that looks out for each other.”

Ewell aims to do that by transforming a former Boys and Girls Club location in Duquesne into the Phyliss R. Ewell Resource and Recreation Center, a nonprofit center that will provide numerous resources, programs and recreational activities for all ages.

Most importantly, he wants to create a safe haven that the Mon Valley can call its forever home and find a place of refuge. Inspired by his mother, Phyliss, Ewell named the center after her. The center will provide programming for youths, young adults, single mothers, seniors and anyone in need. Ewell hopes it will open in June or July.

Duquesne was a community of resources for Ewell and his mother when she and his father separated. They slept on his cousin’s couch for months until they were able to take over the lease when the cousin moved.

They weren’t planning on staying in Duquesne, but the support they got from the community made Phyliss decide to call Duquesne her forever home. Pastor Ewell is planning to create that same vision, a place where people can get support, resources, attend programs and much more.

The Phyliss R. Ewell Resource and Recreation Center is a big, beautiful place with several rooms that will accommodate programs and assist the community.

The building has two floors. The first floor has administration offices, office space for client meetings and a large activity room to host programs. Downstairs is where the center will host many of its programs such as a food bank, community meals and a children’s daycare for parents who need an extra set of eyes and hands while they are attending appointments or receiving resources.

Currently, the center is in the middle of being reconstructed. It needs to raise $80,000 for a new HVAC system. They were fixing the elevator and working on plumbing issues during a reporter’s recent visit. More information can be found at the Divine Restoration Outreach Ministries section of www.divinerestorationcogic. org.

Ewell said it’s following God’s mandate.

“God calls us to look after the seniors and the orphans,” he said, referring to scripture. “Seniors are a big part of the center because this is their primary way to stay connected to the community if their family isn’t close to the area.”

Additionally, Ewell wants to help single mothers by providing resources upfront, as the Mon Valley has a high concentration of single mothers. For example, in Allegheny County, which includes McKeesport, Duquesne and Pittsburgh, single mothers lead 28% of the county’s roughly 130,000 families, according to a 2018 Allegheny County Analytics report.

Ewell also has a plan to help get youths off the streets. He will open his doors for children ages 5 and above for at least five days a week after school to work on projects and do activities. He already runs an open gym basketball program at Penn State Greater Allegheny from 10 p.m. to midnight every Friday.

Congregation member Desmond Stanford shared a testimony of a young man who had previously been incarcerated due to an emotional outburst. He said the basketball program helped restore the young man emotionally by giving him a safe space and allowing him to channel his energy into something he loves — basketball.

The same program will be offered at the new center. There will be more time to shoot basketball, more time to talk and mentor children, more space and more food because the food bank will be in the same location.

“The center will be more than four walls — it will be a place of safety and community,” Ewell said. “The place will only keep getting greater, as it will be a one-stop shop for everything the community needs.”

Ewell hopes to get other people involved in the mission. He wants to help other nonprofits keep their programs within the community by providing a temporary location for them to meet their clients. He acknowledges that it is hard for nonprofits because they don’t always have the money to get their own places.

“We just ask that you operate with the same integrity that we operate in. You know, we are very mindful and respectful of people, the youth, of seniors and most importantly, respectful of God,” Ewell said.

Most importantly, the center wants people to become witnesses of God’s mission.

“It’s big to just be a witness. It’s great when you see fruit actually being buried in a messed-up community,” Stanford said. “I think any inspiration that is needed takes place in the presence of them actually coming and seeing the works. You’ll see the tremendous service and volunteers. You’ll see it all, and then you’re going to be complied. You be like, ‘Where can I get in this?’ Just that within itself, will we make moves just within the spirit?”

Venasia Settles of Pittsburgh’s South Side is the owner of Hands in Reach LLC, which specializes in lifestyle photography. Kyle Nelson of White Oak is a photographer and a library clerk at the Carnegie Free Library of McKeesport. Settles and Nelson are members of Tube City Writers.

“God calls us to look after the seniors and the orphans. Seniors are a big part of the center because this is their primary way to stay connected to the community if their family isn’t close to the area.”

PASTOR ERIC EWELL

DIVINE RESTORATION OUTREACH AND MINISTRIES