When the Barry County Neighborhood Center closed in September, then-Family Resource Sepcialist Carrie Beck said the community was left in panic.

“When we started getting word out that they were closing, and our clients started to find out, it’s panic, because, is there going to be help for Christmas? How are we going to get help with clothes?” Beck said. “We did a diaper bank. There were other resources there, and food that we were doing for the unhoused population that we’ve got around here, because they can’t get access to resources without an address.”

Beck said the closure left her determined to create a new, sustainable source of support for those in need.

“I got to thinking, we absolutely have to have something,” she said. “And so I started talking to people and meeting with people and seeing what we could get done.”

Those conversations led to the formation of The Generations Project, a new non-profit that aims to open the Andey Hunter Community Resource Center in the old Barry County Jail.

“We have got the old Barry County Jail, and with that, you know, it’s a great facility as far as what it’s going to be able to allow us to do,” Beck said. “The vision for that is enormous, and how it will serve the community. The vision is also something that’s going to last long term, where, if we have another non-profit that is part of that building and part of that resource center, if something happens with them, they go by the wayside — our community is still going to be okay.”

Beck said she and a committee of local leaders are working to make the center a hub for emergency and longterm needs.

“The idea so far for what we want to house in that building is The Generations Project,” she said. “We’ve secured donations, and we can handle the clothing room and the free store like was available at our previous Neighborhood Center. We will have that, and this facility will also allow us the opportunity to put in a food pantry portion.”

In addition to providing basic needs, Beck said the facility will offer opportunities to connect and learn.

“We want to have a community room,” she said. “We do life skill classes, and we connect those generations to one another. Say, if I’ve got some of our senior clients that are really good at canning and have all of that knowledge, and I’ve got some younger clients that want to learn that life skill, we connect that together.”

The Generations Project is currently under the umbrella of 4 Ozark Seniors, a Reeds Spring-based non-profit, until Beck is able to obtain 501(c)3 status on her own.

Beck said as a former jail, the Community Resource Center’s layout — which includes multiple pods and a recreation yard — allows for creative reuse.

“I want to have some shower facilities, because that building has plenty of showers in there, so we’re going to work on that and get a shower facility for the unhoused,” she said. “And, I also want to have laundry resources where they can come and they can wash their clothes and it not be anything of cost.”

A key element, she said, will be helping unhoused residents regain access to vital services.

“I’ve spoken with our acting postmaster right now, and it’s not going to be any problem whatsoever,” Beck said. “We’re going to set up mailboxes for our unhoused population, because that is a huge barrier for services. They cannot register at a food pantry to get assistance. They cannot register with social services to get assistance. It looks really bad on a job application if you don’t have an address to put in that space.”

While the building offers possibilities, it also comes with challenges.

“That space is very dilapidated, and it needs some massive attention,” Beck said. “We’re in crisis mode, trying to take care of these people in our community, because, sadly, if they don’t have resources, that leads to more crime, that leads to more issues within our community, and we don’t want that.”

Beck said the group is relying heavily on community donations to get the center started.

“At this point with our startup capital, we need donations,” she said. “We’ve also discovered that there is a water main break under the kitchen area, so we can’t turn on water to that portion of the facility.”

To support ongoing funding, Beck said the committee is exploring innovative options.

“We’re exploring the idea of renting some of the old cell block locations as storage units,” she said. “That would be a way — store your stuff and help your community at the same time.”

The Community Resource Center, purchased by JD Hunter, is named after his cousin, Andey Hunter, a Cassville resident who was allegedly stabbed to death last year.

“We’re paying homage to a young man that lost his life way too soon in our community, and he was important to our community,” Beck said. “That way, nobody gets top billing on those non-profits that are working in house, and everybody has an equal say, and we’re all working together for the same goal.”

Beck said the name also represents the kind of transformation the group hopes to achieve.

“What better way than to turn something that used to be for law enforcement and for that side of things and to address crime and turn it into something that’s actually going to change people’s lives and keep them away from that style of life,” she said.

Beck said Hunter asked for a plaque in the building honoring his cousin, but the committee decided naming the building after him would be a greater honor and put all non-profits operating out of the center in the future under a name honoring a community member To launch operations, Beck said two programs will begin immediately.

“Ideally from day one, we have to be able to do Share Your Christmas signups,” she said. “We start those Oct. 27, so I will have the office open over there for people to come in and sign up for Share Your Christmas.”

Mail services for unhoused residents will also begin right away.

“The mailman brings us the mail and we sort it into the appropriate boxes,” Beck said. “They will come into the window and ask for their mail in whatever box they’ve been assigned.”

Beck said volunteers are crucial to the effort.

“Right now it’s a very big skeleton crew of myself and about four other people that are hit and miss where they come in,” she said. “If anyone wants to volunteer time or services, especially any tradesman, please call me. Come see me. There’s lots of cleaning to do. There’s lots of painting to do, because, as you can imagine, an old jail, there’s lots of not-so-nice graffiti in places.”

Though she currently serves as a volunteer herself, Beck hopes to one day earn enough funding for a paid position.

“Right now, I’m living on unemployment, and I will scrape by on minimum wage,” she said. “You give me minimum wage, I will do this. I will help people all the time. That’s where my heart is, but I do have bills to pay like anyone else.”

Beck said she is doing everything possible to keep the project moving.

“Right now my cell phone is our business phone, because that’s where I’m at,” she said. “My computer for the office right now is my personal laptop, but we’ll build from there. Everything starts somewhere, but this cannot happen without community support.”

Despite the challenges, Beck said she believes the community will step up to help.

“There’s beautiful grants out there that we can go for, and we are absolutely going to go for that,” she said. “But it is a process to get there, and we are walking into a building with a lot of issues that I’ve got to address to get us going.”

Beck said she’s confident the project — and the people behind it — will make a lasting impact.

“We can establish something that will last long term,” she said. “It’s going to change people’s lives.”