High Hope opens larger facility in Kirksville

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After many years working in cramped quarters, the staff of High Hope Employment Services is celebrating a much larger workspace to process and recycle materials.

The staff and city officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at their new building Tuesday, located at 2819 Halliburton Street. High Hope has locations in Kirksville and Milan, and provides support, employment and personal services to people with disabilities. The previous Kirksville location, across the street from the new one, was just too small for the operation.

Andrea Rowland, Executive Director of High Hope, said the staff rightfully complained about having to work on top of one another. Last January, Rowland and Sarah Halstead, Kirksville’s Administrative Services Coordinator, began the application for a Community Development Block Grant to purchase a new building. High Hope was awarded that grant in January, received the funds in May, and then opened the new Kirksville building around the start of September.

“This is amazing,” Rowland said. “The other building, we moved into it in 2008 and we had already built onto it once and were out of space on the property to continue building. We went from 35 square feet to 17,000. That’s a huge difference. The only thing we had room to do down there is process cardboard.”

Now, the High Hope staff can process any recyclable material besides glass. Before, everything but cardboard had to be hauled over to Milan. High Hope is still the only recycling operation in Kirksville, so citizens can drop off materials in the bin outside the building. They will also pay 20 cents per pound for cans.

Alongside the recycling buildings in Kirksville and Milan, High Hope also has a cleaning service in Milan and two in Kirksville. They also run a secondhand store in Milan and the former Kirksville recycling center has now been turned into one as well. Rowland said the company employs about 120 total people between Kirksville and Milan.

“On behalf of the city, we wish High Hope tremendous success, and thanks for serving to integrate members of our great community with disabilities into the workforce,” said Kirksville city councilman Rick Steele.

With more space to work with, Rowland said she plans on hiring more employees.

“We are actually trying to pull people off a waitlist we had to create about a year ago because we were out of space,” Rowland said. “Also, I’m looking to get a greenhouse because we have roughly 5 acres out here. So we’re looking to add a greenhouse to provide more jobs and give back a little bit to our community.”

Rowland said the idea would be to grow produce, plants and flowers, which could then be sold at farmer’s markets or at the building.

With the big, new building, High Hope isn’t as much of a best-kept secret as it was before. So Rowland has a message for Kirksville residents.

“Stop by, come in and see the recycling operation itself,” Rowland said. “Come see the support we provide to individuals with disabilities and how they’re able to work in a great and competitive job right alongside other co-workers without a disability. It makes a huge difference in a lot of people’s lives.”

This article originally appeared on Kirksville Daily Express: High Hope opens larger facility in Kirksville

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