Inside an unassuming, two-story building along Murchison Road is what Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin described as a dream come alive: A safe space where children and teens living along the Murchison Road corridor can learn and grow.
That space is the Way2Real Community Center, which officially opened on June 27 after a key handoff ceremony with the city. From Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., the center provides youth with low-cost mental and behavioral health services, a food pantry, enrichment programs, academic tutoring, and career and workforce development.
“What this is is a light that will shine brighter than any light on the Murchison Road,” Tony Haire, director of the Way2Real Community Center and behavioral and mental health therapist, told CityView.
Haire grew up on Washington Drive in the Murchison Road corridor, a historic center of Fayetteville’s Black culture. While other parts of Fayetteville have been significantly developed in the last 20 years, neighborhoods in the corridor have not seen the same focus on revitalization and efforts to increase access to community resources.
Haire, a longtime advocate for at-risk youth, said the corridor’s lack of resources is impacting how youth think about themselves and their futures.
“I know who they are, because I was them,” Haire said.
The Way2Real Community Center is the latest development in the city’s Murchison Choice Neighborhood Initiative. The initiative is a partnership between Murchison Road corridor residents and city development officials to redevelop the area. In addition to the community center, city officials and residents involved in the initiative have also pushed for increased access to a grocery store, though one hasn’t yet come to the area.
While the Way2Real Community Center is focused on youth, Haire emphasized that its services help the entire family. His goal is to ensure that a child’s environment helps them reach their full potential, and he said that requires work on behalf of parents to foster that environment outside the community center.
“We ultimately change the world by changing the family,” Haire said.
Haire’s own experience and the input of neighborhood residents, business owners, educators and youth shaped the offerings at the Way2Real Community Center. Kids’ interests led Haire to include a recording studio and podcasting space. Children and teens will be taught how to use the equipment by industry experts like Benny Pough, the former executive vice president of Epic Records and former president of Roc Nation.
The center also has laptops for children to use for homework, tutoring and other activities.
Providers of employment, mental and behavioral health, education and reentry services like Alliance Health, Fayetteville Technical Community College and Employment Source will rotate offices in the community center. They’ll use the rooms to hold appointments and connect with more youth and their families who could benefit from their services.
A small library at the Way2Real Community Center holds podcasting equipment for children and teens to use to record podcasts. Credit: Morgan Casey / CityView 
The Way2Real Community Center’s Benny Pough Recording Studio will teach children and teens how to professional record and edit music. Credit: Morgan Casey / CityView 
The Way2Real Community Center’s Benny Pough Recording Studio features a recording booth for children and teens to use to pursue interests in music. Credit: Morgan Casey / CityView
Haire and partners like FTCC will hold classes on leadership development, the trade industry, and STEM fields.
“I’m going to make sure that I give them everything that God has given to me,” Haire said.
The community center was a joint venture between the city and Haire’s nonprofit, Way2Real. The city used $1 million from its American Rescue Plan Act funding to purchase and renovate the building, and Haire said Way2Real spent about $100,000.
“This is more than just an opening of a building,” City Manager Doug Hewett said at the key handoff ceremony. “It’s the realization of a promise, a promise to invest in a community safety, youth opportunity and neighborhood transformation right here on Murchison Road.”
The transformation can’t happen without kids coming through the door, so the community center is working with Luther Nick Jeralds Middle School to bring its middle schoolers to the center now that it’s fully open.
Youth and their families are already taking advantage of the center, as volunteers are on their third week of providing a free summer day camp for kids 11 to 15 years old. The camp, which runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, is still accepting campers. Parents interested can sign up their children by calling 910-813-7304.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.