VODEC celebrates new Omaha office

By TIM JOHNSON, Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, June 9, 2009 10:34 AM CDT
MILLARD, Neb. – The Vocational Development Center will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday from 4-6 p.m. at its newly remodeled facility at 4526 S. 140th St. in Millard, Neb.

The building, which opened June 1, replaces VODEC’s LaVista work center, which opened in 2001 when the agency consolidated with CARE Homes, said Pam Monsky, community relations director.

“Our research and our clients were showing that they’re coming more from the southwest part of Omaha,” she said.

The “new” building is closer to clients and better suited to meet the organization’s needs, Monsky said.

“It’s just a lot brighter, cleaner, more convenient,” she said. “I think the work floor space is pretty comparable, but the other space – like the office space – is a lot bigger.”

Already, more clients are being served at the new location than were being served in LaVista, Monsky said.

“We had like 10 more right when we opened,” she said. “We had about 65, and we have about 75 at the new one.”

The building did not require a great deal of work, Monsky said.

“We didn’t have to do a lot of remodeling,” she said. “The production floor was pretty good. We had to do a little bit of finishing work and we had to add some restrooms.”

At the Millard location, as at VODEC’s other two metro-area work centers, clients will perform “real work for real wages” for companies that have contracted with the organization.

In addition to the work center staff, the building will house VODEC’s Supportive Employment Office, which provides job coaching and job skills training for clients who work in the community, and the staff for VODEC’s Nebraska residential program, Monsky said.

The last VODEC facility to open was the Abbott Drive location in June 2006.




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