Carmen Crawford has lived in Winchester her entire life. She attended Douglas School until the seventh grade and later watched her son get same start. For Carmen, Douglas is more than a school, it is glue that keeps the community together. She says there is untapped potential for the center. "We could have vocational training, we could even have on the job training. We could have business conglomerates meet with us to help people get jobs in the community."
Threats to close Douglas are now bringing the community together. There is outpouring of support from residents and leaders as they try to find money to maintain this much needed facility.

Winchester Public Schools owns the property, but deep budget cuts make it hard to improve the center. Dr. Ricky Leonard supports Douglas and he wants to find a way to keep it going. "It's much more than a historical building. It was the first city involvement in the education of African Americans in our community. It made sense that we would want to do something," Leonard says.

Crawford understands that the city and schools are in tough economic times, but she says Douglas is too precious to let go. "When you change an environment, you change the people. When you change the people, you change the whole network," she says.

City council is forming a steering committee to identify how the center can be used more effectively.