How do you say good-bye to an old friend? The big red building at 5407-8th Avenue was “home” to so many of us for so long that it really feels like leaving someone behind as we make a momentous move to a new place. Over the years, that red building has seen so much. If walls could talk, as they say, those walls would have tales to tell. Tales of kind, caring people working hard to provide quality services to those in need. People brainstorming on how to meet the needs of the community when there was, quite frankly, no money in the budget to do so. The walls would tell stories of consumers coming and going – those who made our days difficult and those who always made us smile.
We will always have our own fond, perhaps strangely so, memories of the big red building. The way the floor always slanted, and desk or file cabinet drawers would sometimes just open on their own. How it would be a cool 68 degrees on one side of the building one minute and about 110 degrees on the other! And that would reverse itself by afternoon for no reason at all. Or coming in to work and finding your entire desktop dripping wet where the roof had leaked the night before! And then there was the adventure of having to go use the neighbor’s bathroom once or twice each year because the plumbing was always backing up and had to be shut down. Working in the big red building could be fun!
We complained, we moaned and groaned but, deep down, we love that place. Yet, we also knew that we were growing out of it. Over the years, KHDS has grown and taken on so many new programs and people that we just needed space. We also needed a space that reflected that quality of work that we do. KHDS might be the agency who is able to serve people with very little money, but we do it in a very professional manner and it’s time that our space reflects that! So, ONWARD!
Our new home at 3526-52nd Street is gorgeous! It’s still homey and inviting and welcoming to all and carries the KHDS culture proudly! We’re excited to share it with you all. Yet, it is bittersweet as we walk away from Big Red. As we leave her behind, we’ll carry our memories with us.