This fall the sounds of drills and hammers filled the air at the Center for Community Services, located in the former Bryson Elementary School building at 703 Bryson Drive in Simpsonville. Ralph Sweeney, who became executive director in October, says the facility upgrades are just a part of preparations underway to provide more services to local families.
CCS is one of several agencies in Greenville County that provide emergency assistance and partner with other entities to offer a variety of services that foster long-term independence and wellbeing.
“If we see the same person over and over, we become a crutch holding individuals back,” Sweeney says. “Our mission is to help people in need become self sufficient. It’s not just emergency relief. We’d like for them to get to the point where they don’t need us.”
CCS partners at the site include a SHARE Head Start program for children up to age 5 and Thrive Upstate, which serves people with disabilities. A satellite location of Greenville Free Medical Clinic is open one day a week and is accepting new patients. Greenville Literacy Association offers GED-prep, English as a second language and other classes to improve literacy and employment skills.
After five years as director of finance and administration for Upstate Fatherhood Coalition, Sweeney was ready to get back to working directly with individuals striving to improve their circumstances. Prior to that, he served for 12 years as executive director of Pleasant Valley Connection.
“I was familiar with the colocated model, collaborating to bring costs down and bring services directly to the people,” he says. “Our goal is to make it easy for residents to access the services of different providers by removing barriers and avoiding the additional cost of building new facilities.”
CCS’s case managers, who have operated on modified schedules since the pandemic, will resume full-time service in January 2023. They help residents apply for benefits like SNAP and WIC and seek housing and employment. Sweeney hopes to add anger management and Triple P parenting classes soon.
Sweeney says he’s happy to be working in Simpsonville, where his home church and most of his family are located and where he visited with his cousins during the summer months while growing up. He’s excited about the challenge of helping more residents realize their goals.
“The great thing was that on day one when I walked in, the staff and volunteers were already motivated. They’re already up to the task. There’s no way to fail with that type of support,” he says. “Miracles are good people with good hearts doing good things.”
CCS’s current needs are for monetary or in-kind donations of food, cleaning supplies and diapers.
“We always need volunteers to help with emergency relief and coordinate food drives,” Sweeney says. “We hope to go from a three-day schedule to a five-day schedule in the second quarter if we have enough volunteers in place.”
The Community Foundation of Greenville has supported CSS with grants totaling $10,000 from the Dr. J.C. & Dorothy C. Frazier Endowment in 2020 and a capacity building grant of $7,500 in 2021. CFG also administers the John I. Smith Charities Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to students living in subsidized housing. Sweeney was a recipient of this scholarship, and he credits it with making opportunities available to him which changed the trajectory of his life.
Bob Morris, CFG president, once remarked that Sweeney personified the Community Foundation’s mission of bridging philanthropy and purpose. Pointing to the bridge in the CFG’s logo, he said, “That’s you right there.”
“It is gratifying to see how an investment in Ralph as a high school student through a John I. Smith scholarship has led to a career of public service in his roles with Pleasant Valley Connection and Center for Community Service,” Morris says. “We were very lucky to have Ralph serve on our board and as a member of the executive committee.”
