With a new director in the fold, Southwick House leaders are continuing their work to restore services to women in crisis situations after the closure of Plumb Place over two years ago.
The latest step, as reported by KVOE News, was the hire of Susan Brinkman as executive director. Brinkman says a lot has changed since she served as Plumb Place’s first non-resident director in the 1990s — notably in technology and accessibility — but she says she’s grateful for what she calls an active board of directors. And she says it’s important for Southwick House to chart its own path, not “copy and paste” from the past.
On KVOE’s Morning Show on Wednesday, Southwick House Board President Jeremy Dorsey referred to Brinkman as “our unicorn” because of her prior connections to Plumb Place and her expertise as a business owner and Emporia mayor.
Plumb Place had to close at the end of 2020, unable to shake off the financial effects of over $50,000 in missing funds as well as an inability to avoid operations issues through the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it did, services like emergency shelter, transitional housing, case management, life skills education and therapy groups disappeared.
Now that Southwick House has a board and director, the goal now is to set up the infrastructure so Southwick House can re-establish services for women and, quite possibly, their children. Dorsey says the goal is to use one facility after extended conversations about possibly having several locations across town, and Brinkman says the board will do its due diligence to make sure it’s the right house for current and future demand. Southwick House is also getting ready to launch a presence on social media.
