PONTIAC, Mich. – Lorenzo Sewell sees big things happening when he walks around the Dream Center of Pontiac.
Sewell, the director of the nonprofit center, wants to give families with no hope a place to go and rebuild their lives.
"We give hope to the hopeless," Sewell said.
The Dream Center of Pontiac, located on Auburn Road near Opdyke Road, is currently a place where people can come to get a hot meal, a shower, clothing, and some medical and dental services. It also offers some school tutoring, computer classes, literacy programs, counseling, mentoring and family activities.
"Our goal is to be able to equip our children to learn how to read and our women to have a place to be safe and to learn life skills but we want to teach our men how to be able to learn a skill trade," Sewell said.
Sewell told Local 4 he wants the Dream Center to be a place for families that will compliment other services already offered in the Pontiac area.
The center had 88 acres of land donated to it and Sewell has a vision for how that land should be developed including an amphitheater, a children's park, beach area and a splash pad.
"We we have about 16,000 children up under the age of 18 that don't have a place to gather," Sewell said.
Sewell admits it's a tough area, with gang violence and other problems, but believes the expansion of the center will change the landscape of the area.
"When we develop the land we are going to drive these drug dealers out of here," Sewell said.
A fundraiser is being held Friday October 7 to raise money for phase one of the land development project.
The "A Night of Dreams" Annual Fundraiser will be held at the Dream Center of Pontiac at 830 Auburn Avenue in Pontiac. The event will benefit both the Pontiac and Warren Dream Centers. It begins with a tour at 5:30 p.m. with dinner/program at 6:30 p.m. Local 4's Chuck Gaidica will be the emcee.
"If we can cause our children to have a good experience in this city, guess what's going to happen? They'll come back to this city, they'll bring their skills and their talents back to Pontiac," Sewell said. "It's more than just having a splash park and having an amphitheater and having a children park, it's so much more than that."
Tickets for "A Night of Dreams" are $50 a person. You can purchase here or call Molly at (248) 978-8183.