FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WZTV) — A church in Franklin has built a community center for a mobile home park for the working poor.
When you think of Franklin, Tennessee, how can you think of anything other than wealth?
The state Department of Economic Development ranks Williamson County as one of the wealthiest counties in America. But then there’s Franklin Estates Mobile Home Park – a predominantly blue-collar Hispanic community hidden among all the big houses. It has a rhythm of its own.
The construction boom somehow overlooked the run down supermarket in front of the community, which had been abandoned for a decade. Until the people of Berry’s Chapel Church of Christ decided to do something big for this community. They wanted to build the community center “Juntos” and fill it with wonderful things.
“We were looking for a place that had almost a presence in this community. And we have members who live in this community, and through them and their presence, we realized, ‘Hey, there’s a building that’s not being used,'” said Pastor Preston Pratt.
Not anymore. The free washer and dryer will soon be humming day and night. The common room will soon be used to host English classes for residents of the Franklin trailer park.
“Learning English helps a lot. Communication is better. We can find better jobs. And because we can communicate with our employers, we are also more economically stable,” said local resident Roman De La Cruz.
And on weekends, language becomes music in a well-attended Zumba class.
That sounds like a strange combination of conveniences. But that’s what happens when you ask people what they want instead of telling them what they need.
“We didn’t want to just come in and say, ‘Hey, we think this is exactly what you need.’ We wanted to hear that from the community. We also recognize that this can change over time, and so we want to adapt,” Pastor Pratt said.
Roman De La Cruz, a church member and local resident who volunteered to help build the Juntos Community Center, is so happy about this project that it takes his breath away.
“I am not able to come here and understand what is happening and witness it to my children,” De La Cruz said.
Juntos means “together” in English: a perfect, simple name for a simple but perfect idea.
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