by Krystal Paco

Guam - It's an inclusion for all facility as a result of a partnership between the Guam Regional Transit Authority and the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities.

Out with the old, in with the new - that is, the old Goodwill facility in Upper Tumon will soon turn into a community resource center for all, especially the island's disabled and Guam Regional Transit Authority users.

DISID director Ben Servino told KUAM News, ""We're looking at it as an integrated facility where everybody can come in not just people with disabilities but the community we want to try to make it a health and wellness center too, maybe an emergency shelter for people with disabilities who can't afford to stay in the hotels in case of the typhoon or anything like that. Use it for training facility so we can do joint trainings and really maximize the use of that facility."

Servino says DISID serves roughly 650 clients, all who are in need of such a facility. "There are services in the community a lot of clients go to. They go to Public Health they go to Mental Health they go Guam Housing, they go to the One-Stop Career Center. As we all know, and all the community knows, a lot the issues deal with transportation. A lot of clients can't even go to work because of the limited service periods that are provide, so we have GRTA as part of our partner, in this facility and it will be easier for clients to access transportation."

According to GRTA interim general manager Rudy Cabana, DISID owns the Upper Tumon property and will act like a landlord using a $1 million GRTA grant from the Veterans Transportation Community Living Initiative. Cabana says the central satellite site will better cater to the 500 who presently use GRTA's services, noting, "The merging with DISID over at the DNA Building along with Guam Regional Transit Authority would be more of a user friendly type of surrounding for the individual with a disability and the general public alike."

Servino says the grant provides an 18-month period for implementation of construction.