By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and chief of staff Tom J. McCarthy presented a citation to Vertical Church Senior Pastor Ken Vance on Nov. 8 to celebrate the recent grand opening of the church’s Dream Center at 263 Center St.
On Oct. 28, Vance, who leads the Meloy Road-based nondenominational Christian church, held a ribbon-cutting with city, state and federal officials, along with congregants, business leaders and volunteers, to mark the opening of the new center in the heart of downtown.
The 3,000-square-foot center includes a clothing closet, a food pantry, services for employment counseling and financial education, and resources for emergency support needs, such as medical services and education assistance.
The bodega-style food pantry is open every Saturday from 9-11 a.m.
According to its mission statement, the Dream Center aims to aid people in need, including those without homes or jobs or with low incomes, “to restore hope and allow them to dream again.”
“Vertical Church has a proud history of serving those in the greatest of need, and this center will help ensure that the doors of opportunity continue to open wide for all who are willing to dream big,” said Rossi, reading the citation. “Your center will inspire individuals and families to be the best version of themselves by giving them hope and help through hunger relief, clothing support, job training, recovery support ministry, medical care and education.”
The ribbon-cutting opened with remarks by Vance, who thanked the city and the Rossi administration for their “tremendous partnership in serving the people of West Haven.”
Republican Rep. Charles J. Ferraro and Democratic Reps. Dorinda Borer and Treneé McGee, all of West Haven, presented a General Assembly citation to Vertical Church on behalf of the city’s delegation.
The ceremony also featured remarks by church Outreach Pastor Paul Bronson, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3.
“In America, people should never go homeless, they should never go food insecure,” Blumenthal said. “Their children should never go without a great education. In the United States of America, we need hope, we need dreams.”