LEXINGTON, Ky. — One Lexington Community Center is looking forward to reopening its doors to the community this summer. 

With free summer programs, William Wells Brown Community Center has made many changes and safety precautions to keep everyone safe. 

As the school year comes to an end, many families are looking for summer activities to get involved with in Lexington. 

“I know everybody's stressed out, and we just want everybody to just live a healthier lifestyle. I think living a healthy lifestyle is very important. Your body, your mind, and your soul have to be in balance,” Community Center Director Jill Wilson said.

Because the center was created as a collaboration between the city and Fayette County Public Schools, the William Wells Brown Community Center is free to the community.

“The kids always say, We know your favorite word today is free, so basically the taxpaying dollars are going to good use here at William Wells brown, so the kids come in, we have anti-bullying, you know we do girls group, and boys, with Girl Scouts as well, just letting them know that when you come in here it's a safe haven,” Wilson said.

Before the pandemic, Wilson said the center used to have adult and teen wellness classes, cooking, arts and craft, and many other options for both adults and children. But this past year has been difficult for the Lexington community, and she wants to create a space for everyone to enjoy.

“I really want to target our teens especially because there's not really a whole lot of different things to do in the community since we had COVID come along, you know, basically for them just to be in a safe environment, a lot of the kids and the teens love to just come in and socialize,” Wilson said.

Wilson said because of the pandemic, the community center this year will focus on mental health.

“The activities that I was really doing some research on is our mental health, that mental awareness piece you know with the pandemic everybody's stressed out. And I think we really need to teach more strategies on how to cope. That coping mechanism for our youth and teens is very crucial,” Wilson said.