‘Workman Center’ to host grand opening April 22

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PORTSMOUTH — A brighter day is coming to Portsmouth, literally.

The Workman Center, (TWC) which will offer services such as treatment, case management, and prevention, group. TWC is located at 1616 Grant Street will hold it’s grand opening on Friday, April 22, from noon until 2 p.m.

The motto of TWC is, “With Hope A Brighter Day is Coming.” Founded by Daniel White, of Washington, D.C. area, and Portsmouth, Ohio native, White said the project materialized in a way that he had not originally planned.

“When I first moved part of the A & I Company to Portsmouth, my intent was to bring jobs to the area. So, that was my number one focus,” White said. “Since then, as a result the Workman Center and some of the other projects that the company is looking at went in at totally different direction. What I see now is it is all coming together in a way that I had not planned, it is however, something that I had thought about doing in the Portsmouth area for many years.

The ultimate goal is to help to break cycles of drug addiction so prevalent in the Portsmouth area, and to create jobs for those who are in need.

“What I see and hear about the problems in the local area with chemical dependency and the issues with the high rate of suicide in the area, there seems to be a connection in my mind at least, between not having the means to help support yourself or your family,” White said. “It seems to be a natural fit with trying to create employment, and actually to try to break the cycle of chemical dependency, and also on the crisis management side. So, once you can get focused, get to the point where you feel like you’ve got some hope my intent is to take that further in order to have these individuals possibly be able to then proceed to find employment, and I am hoping that A & I will be the company that will be able to create the employment for those people as well. So, we are working this from two sides, and hopefully it all meets in the middle.”

Joanna Krohn, said TWC is named in honor of her son Wesley who died as the result of a drug related death.

“Dan chose the name, The Workman Center in memory of my son Wes, and he did that after he watched a football video. It was Wesley’s senior year and highlight video and he saw what a promising young man he was, whose life was shortened because of a drug related incident,” Krohn said. “So, he thought it would be a really good thing, especially with the problems in this community, and he knew that I was seeking other opportunities, and was no longer with my former agency. We all got together and put the plans in place and things came together so quickly.”

Krohn said they are really excited about and looking forward to the grand opening on Friday, April 22.

“We will have our grand opening on April 22nd, which is actually the date that my son Wesley passed away, so this is very meaningful to me,” Krohn said. “We will be open to help people, and we are really looking forward to helping people in our community. I am going to be the one to reveal the sign that will say, ‘The Workman Center,’ and we will be releasing balloons to the sky. We want the community to come out for the opening day. We are extremely delighted to be able to provide these services to the community.”

By Portia Williams

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Reach Portia Williams at 740-353-3101, ext. 1929, or on Twitter @PortiaWillPDT.

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