By Clint Wolf - June 28th 2023
BELOIT
Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois has big plans for the future and they will be saying goodbye to a valued leader.
Family Services held a special program at the Butterfly Club Tuesday when plans for the Next Step program and other initiatives were outlined. It also was noted that longtime executive director John Pfleiderer will be retiring and Kelsey Hood-Christenson, who currently serves as co-executive director, will lead the organization.
“I have really been fortunate in my life,” said Pfleiderer, who has been with Family Services for 24 years.
He said his decision to retire involved a combination of issues. He said he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and he recently suffered a traumatic brain injury. He said because of his health challenges he felt this was the time to turn the reins over to someone else.
He said he plans to retire in October.
Other than Pfleiderer’s retirement, Family Services staff outlined plans for the future including new community engagement events and the multi-million-dollar renovation of the former Royce School in Beloit, which will be used for housing and transitional programs for homeless single parents.
Pfleiderer said Family Services has received American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the City of Beloit and Rock County to complete construction and renovation of the former elementary school at 825 Liberty Ave. The project has received $2 million in ARPA funds from Beloit and $3 million from Rock County.
Plans are for the construction to be complete by spring of 2025.
The project will offer transitional living facilities for homeless single-parent families. It will include 17 living units, daycare and playground facilities for children and it will offer resources for single parents so they can become self-sufficient and get to a place where they can support and nurture their families.
“For homeless parents, mostly women, it will provide benefits in life defining ways,” Pfleiderer said.
He said the vision is to provide resources so parents are not in a position where they are overwhelmed by their situation so they can. provide support for children so they can thrive and grow up to be contributors to society without the stigma of childhood trauma.
Bids have not been put out for the construction project yet, but initial research has indicated the construction costs will exceed the funds received so far. So a capital campaign is being planned to raise more funds, Pfleiderer said.
Jenny Tschudy, resource and development director at Family Services, said the event at the Butterfly Club was intended to engage with the community and inform people about the services offered by Family Services.
Some new events Family Services is planning include an annual dinner and a barbecue and blues event that will be held in partnership with the Rock County Historical Society in Janesville.
Tschudy said Family Services staff thought it would be beneficial to engage more with the Janesville community and inform Janesville residents about the programs and resources offered by the agency.
Family Services offers programs and services such as DEFY Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault Recovery, Neighborhood Resilience Project, Individual and Family Counseling and Praxis Employee Assistance.
Tschudy said Family Services has been around for 90 years and the people working in the agency are dedicated to helping people in the area.
“In the short time I have been here, I have learned I work with heroes,” she said.
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