CHEYENNE — The Blue Foundation hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for Cheyenne’s first family resource center.

The Blue Boost Center aims to serve the community by connecting those in need with nonprofit organizations in the area, in addition to offering free personal finance classes.

Laura Fowler, executive director of the Blue Foundation, said her goal for the center is to help those in need establish financial independence. She envisions the Blue Boost Center becoming a hub where people can come for support with things like getting food, rental assistance, housing assistance, insurance and other services to support a whole family.

“We are designing an incredible program to do … one-on-one support, to meet people financially where they are for that long-term sustainability, so we don’t let people fall through the cracks again,” Fowler said.

“We have a lot of our nonprofit people here today, and we know the work that they do. A lot of their work is very siloed, due to the nature of their service and the nature of their funding, as well,” she continued. “But this (center) is designed to help navigate all of those resources together, especially when somebody is in crisis.”

Although the physical building, located in the West Retail Building at the Blue World Headquarters campus, won’t open until October, Fowler said they’ve already begun offering services and meeting with clients.

“Hopefully, we’ll keep them as clients long-term,” said Jim Wood, president of the Blue Foundation board of directors. “And when they get back on their feet, we’ll be able to work with them on financial literacy, so that they don’t get in trouble.”

When complete, Fowler hopes the environment of the building will be warm and welcoming, with a living room feel and a few private offices, as well as a space for computers so people can access the internet.

As an example, Fowler shared a success story of how she envisions the center will serve the community.

It began when she heard from a woman who called about a broken water heater in her home. When they met, Fowler learned there were many other issues, and the woman was at the risk of losing her home and many other resources.

The first nonprofit connection Fowler made was with Community Action of Laramie County, a nonprofit that advocates for access to health care and education, who helped the client get back on her feet.

At the Blue Boost Center, not all clients would be referred to Community Action, as each case is different based on individual circumstances.

Daffney Sandoval, development director for Habitat for Humanity of Laramie County, speculated that she may get more clients from Blue Boost Center referrals for their Fresh Start program, which helps people coming out of homelessness, recovery or domestic violence situations. Those in the program receive a voucher for the Habitat ReStore so they can purchase items, like furniture, for their home.

Sandoval said she has worked with homeless services for close to a decade in Cheyenne, and sees this family resource center as a great need in the community.

Fowler joined the Blue Foundation after working as an educator in Laramie County School District 1 for more than 30 years. In her role there, she developed a passion for serving children from underserved backgrounds. Driven by this passion, she co-founded the PEEPS program in the school district, which supports LCSD1 families, offering services and classes.

Through that program, Fowler became well connected with local nonprofits and brought that network with her to the Blue Boost Center.

In 2021, the Governor’s Health Task Force identified a need for family resource centers across the state.

“Resource centers empower individuals, families, and caregivers to effectively navigate services and support options, to make informed choices, and streamlines access to a variety of services,” the task force wrote in a 2021 report.

The report identified various challenges across the state that these centers would work to address, including:

* Wyoming’s population aged 65 and older is expected to increase 54% between 2019 and 2030

* No area agencies on aging

* Lack of coordination among providers

* Lack of sustainable funding

* Insufficient support services for aging and disabled residents to remain in their homes

* Gaps in knowledge of available services

Research into family resource centers across the country has shown that they can be effective in serving a community. Casey Family Programs reports a 45% reduction in cases of child abuse and neglect in Alachua County, Florida; a 20% increase in parents’ self-reports on their ability to keep their children in their care from abuse in Massachusetts; and a 25% increase in the probability that a family reduced its risk of abuse with the addition of one differential response case management per week at a family resource center in San Francisco.