Birmingham: Grand Opening and a Rededication
On Friday, November 8, in Birmingham, we enjoyed a wonderful day as we dedicated the new Pathways Professional Counseling Center and rededicated our Administration building, as the "Paul and Diane Miller Administrative Service Center." Mr. Paul Miller served with ABCH for 39 years, with 25 of those as our CEO, and Diane served the ministry faithfully at his side as both a strong support to him and was actively involved in the ministry.
The new Pathways Professional Counseling expansion allowed us to grow from 8 shared offices to 16 individual offices, as well as six rooms dedicated for Play Therapy and attachment specific therapy rooms with observation areas. A basketball court and walking track have also been added, both of which will primarily be used for counseling with children and teenagers in a relaxed, outdoor setting.
In our Social Services area, we were able to increase our 6 shared offices to 13 offices. We have added an outdoor playground for children to enjoy while waiting at our office or visiting with family, as well as a waiting room, interview room, and family visitation area that includes an indoor play area for children.
Updates in our renovated Administrative Service Center include an expanded Pilot Room, with space for nearly 100, which will be used primarily for foster parent training classes, conferences, and board meetings.
An outdoor staging facility has also been built to help us house the many donations we receive to help our foster families, Camp of Champions, and Christmas sponsorships.
Our hope with this renovation and expansion, is exactly as Mr. Miller put it in his prayer of dedication, that every child under the care of our ministry "would find hope, healing, and wellness.”
We are grateful for God’s blessings in this new growth and for the many churches, donors, and businesses who have provided support to help see this renovation and expansion come to be. We look forward to serving even more children and families in the years to come!