La Posada to debut new buildings

By DAVID LOPEZ
Special to the NEWS

La Posada Providencia is hosting a Dedication Ceremony on Wednesday, April 5, to commemorate the opening of its four new buildings. The evening will include a dedication ceremony, a tour of the buildings, and a dinner on the grounds.

These four new buildings total 6,000 square feet; three of the buildings will be residential spaces, housing 16 people each, and the fourth building will house La Posada’s administration offices, its kitchen and dining room, classrooms, and legal offices.

The new buildings are located in La Posada’s current grounds in 30094 Marydale Rd.

Benjamin Deuel, executive Director for La Posada, said they will now utilize the old buildings as short term housing for volunteer groups or for housing in case of an overflow of migrants and/or asylum seekers.
“With the old buildings, sometimes there would be people sleeping on floors because of the heavy influx,” Deuel said. “Now we can provide a bed for everyone.”

Deuel further mentioned that this project began in 2016 when Sister Zita Telkamp envisioned a large facility for migrants and asylum seekers, leading her to begin fundraising. However, eventually the non-profit hit a plateau, not moving further in their $2 million project. Then last year, La Posada entered into communication with Mennonite Disaster Services and Disaster Aid Ohio.

“Given the recent events in Mexico, they came down to offer aid and one of our affiliates asked about La Posada and our struggles with housing, and they said ‘We’re going to do this for you,’ and we said, ‘How much is it going to cost us?’ They replied, ‘No, we are going to do it,’” Deuel recalled.

The two organizations partnered together, beginning construction on the buildings in October and completing them on March 16. Currently, La Posada is waiting on some final touches with utilities like power and plumbing, and the next effort will be furnishing the new buildings.

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