NILES — When Ric Pawloski became Ferry Street Resource Center’s executive director, he noticed two issues that hindered people from receiving the services the nonprofit provided.

First, he said, was transportation. The people that needed resources to better their lives the most often did not have reliable transportation to get to the organizations that provided them. Large nonprofits and many Berrien County services were often 30 minutes northwest, he said.

The second issue was communication. Whether from a lack of transportation or a fear of having hard conversations, many people did not seek the resources they needed until their situation became dire.

But Pawloski still wanted to stick to the goal he set for the center when he came in as its executive director last November: help people make sustainable choices.

“We want to provide them with the help that makes them sustainable,” he said. “I always say my overarching goal, which we’ll probably never achieve, is to put Ferry Street out of business because that means everybody’s working and everybody’s paying their bills.”

To achieve this goal, Pawloski and Ferry Street’s services coordinator, Arquilla Lewis, began to form partnerships with area nonprofits and agencies that could help others make sustainable life choices. Representatives come to the Ferry Street’s headquarters for select hours each week.

Pawloski said this helps solve some of the issues of transportation and communication. Center users are able to meet with multiple organizations in a safe place.

“It’s a domino effect, but a domino effect in a good way,” said Don Trail, a member of Friend of the Berrien County Court, which oversees child support cases in the area.

Usually, most people would prefer to avoid conversations about child support if they could, he said. But Trail has found that if someone enters Ferry Street for other resource assistance, that person may also come to him as he is there. Sometimes, people may not even realize that a certain service available at Ferry Street is something they needed.

By bringing in services like Niles Adult Education, Educational Opportunity Center, Chemical Bank and Emergency Shelter Services, those Ferry Street serves can take a “chess” approach to life rather than a “checkers” one, Pawloski said.

“A lot of people live their life like a game of checkers, one move at a time, instead of chess, which is three or four moves ahead,” he said, paraphrasing a quote he heard.

Trail gave the example of a man coming to the center needing housing assistance. He might have lost his home because of a lost job. So, he could utilize Gateway Services’ Jobs for Life program at Ferry Street to help him find employment.

He might also have a warrant for failure to pay child support. So, he could talk to Trail, who would forgo the warrant to give the man time to find a job.

“It’s more of what I might like to call a holistic approach, where we can connect you with a number of resources that allow you to put a plan together for your life,” Pawloski said.

Emergency assistance will still be provided, he said, but so will help that makes recipients sustainable, he said.

Ferry Street is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday. Each time frame hosts different outside resource programs.

Jobs For Life, Department of Housing and Human Services and emergency assistance programs are available 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday. Emergency Shelter Services are hosted 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, while Berrien County Friend of the Court offers its services 1 to 3 p.m.

On Tuesday, education services are offered.