By Marieke Danniau

Journal contributor

With karaoke blasting, laughing children scampering underfoot, and a strong early Autumn wind, the Joyce L. Sobel Family Resource Center celebrated its 25th birthday on Sept. 14 at Brickworks.

People from across the community gathered to celebrate, be that individuals who have utilized any number of the center’s resources, friends of the organization, or curious passersby simply wandering in from around town. Inside, the birthday bash featured a cake walk, a delicious buffet, a quilt raffle, and the center’s fundraiser. Outside, party-goers moved between games like bingo and island trivia, Alchemy Art Center’s screen printing booth, karaoke, and an Island Neighbors Ask Us Anything table.

Since its inception in 1998, the JLSFRC has served the island community in numerous ways, from its original goal of assisting young families to now offering housing, medical, disability, counseling, and Latinx resources. In its 25 years, the center has grown tremendously.

With Joyce L. Sobel’s vision of investing in young families on the island, the JLSFRC began as the San Juan Island Family Resource Center. At the start, the center primarily focused on assisting young children and their parents, offering services such as parenting classes and youth mentoring. Board chair emeritus who has worked with the center since 2002, Marty Huleatte, said of one of the center’s earliest programs, “Our playgroups, our toddler playgroups, happened in an empty room at the nursing home.” Now, baby toddler play groups happen at the physical home of the JLSFRC, located across the street from Market Place. And there is also a rain or shine play group that happens at different parks around the island.

While the center started as a small group of dedicated people, it has now grown to a team of over 20 people (one of which is an emotional support dog named Luna). Speaking about the center’s evolution, Huleatte said, “In the 2008 recession, a lot of services really expanded at the resource center. There was such hardship across the island.” Seeing the needs arise, the center created housing and utilities assistance programs. Huleatte continued, “Those periods of challenge can sometimes be the biggest growth opportunities. Nobody else was doing it, so yeah. I think we did.” Current housing services include emergency rental assistance and low-income home repair loans.

In the mid-2010s, the center built up its services geared towards the Latinx population, headed by Yubi Schollmeyer, the JLSFRC’s Case Manager and one of its oldest members. Programs and services like Spanish Language Comprehensive Case Management and Padres Todos Juntos (Spanish language early childhood supports) were created to aid Hispanic community members in utilizing resources that weren’t accessible or simply not there before. Schollmeyer also started a group to teach Latinx adults to swim, where 18 women and six men learned how to swim.

In 2019, the JLSFRC started YAAS! Originally known as the Young Adult Association of San Juan, YAAS! is a group for disabled young adults that meets every week over Zoom on Fridays. The group also has fun community-focused monthly events like island outings and parties.

Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, the center started construction on its main building, and, during the outbreak, even while unable to provide some physical services for a short time, the JLSFRC was available online or over the phone. During the 2020 and 2021 school years, the center also had a Learning Pod–a way for kids to attend online school if they were unable to do so at home.

In 2022, the JLSRFC established the New Day Recovery Café, located next to the post office. The café is open every Tuesday through Friday and serves a meal at 5 p.m. The café serves as a safe place for those struggling, or who have struggled, with any kind of mental health hardships and who are working towards recovery.

And now in 2025, the JLSRFC is celebrating its past achievements and looking towards the future. Donations to the center are always welcome and can be made monetarily, through volunteer work, or via items like household essentials. Information regarding donations, services and programs, and anything else related to the center can be accessed through their website jlsfrc.org.

In their 25th Anniversary newsletter, the Resource Center states, “We believe that no one should face hardship alone.” Though hard times may come, the JLSRFC is ready and eager to make them easier.