HISTORY
MINERAL SPRINGS CENTER
On January 4, 1972 a group of concerned citizens met with County Commissioner, A.L. Stepp. This group included educators, ministers, social workers, and businessmen. On March 4, 1972 the Fannin County Association for Retarded Children was incorporated. The task of writing the grant application, finding a building to house the center, raising local match money, getting volunteers to prepare the building, and hiring staff began. The Fannin County Special Care Center opened on March 26, 1973. It was located in a house adjacent to the Blue Ridge First Baptist Church. There were 16 clients on the first day. Pre-school, school-age, and adults were all served.
A few years later we began serving a portion Gilmer County. We serve the Northern and Western areas of Gilmer County. The name was later changed to the Fannin-Gilmer Association for Retarded Citizens, Inc.
It was not very long until the center had grown to 32 clients served. The center then expanded to two buildings. The adults were served in a building a few blocks down the street from the main building. As the center grew, the need for a larger building arose. The ARC applied for and received a grant to build a new building. The ARC was responsible for raising the local match money for the grant. The Blue Ridge Kiwanis Club donated property for the building in the Mineral Springs area of Blue Ridge. The new facility was completed and opened in January of 1979. At that time the center was renamed Mineral Springs Industries, which later was changed to Mineral Springs Center, Inc.
The center continued to be operated by the ARC executive board until 1985 when it became necessary to form two separate corporations. At that time the center began to be operated by the Mineral Springs Center, Inc. executive board. The Fannin-Gilmer Association for Retarded Citizens, Inc., then became a support organization to the center.
In 1999 the Fannin-Gilmer Society for Mentally Handicapped and Fannin County applied for a Community Services Block Grant to remodel and expand the facilities for Mineral Springs Center. This grant was approved and the renovations were completed in September of 2001.
MSC has provided services through the Medicaid NOW and COMP Waiver programs for the past 20 years. Services that have been provided are Community Access Group/Individual, Support Employment Group/Individual, Pre-Vocational, Community Living Supports, and Specialized Medical Supplies/Equipment. As time has progressed and the demographics of Fannin and Gilmer Counties have moved more to a tourist/retirement area, the need for Support Employment Group/Individual and Pre-Vocational services have decreased. Federal guidelines for Pre-Vocational services resulted in the need to discontinue Pre-Vocational services in 2016. Supported Employment services were also discontinued due to a lack of interest by those served. MSC continued to provide Community Access/Individual services and Community Living Supports.
When the Covid Pandemic hit in March 2020, MSC closed for services for six months under the state shelter in place order. This closure caused a financial hardship for MSC. In February 2021, MSC was at risk for closure due to the financial effects of Covid.
In March 2021, MSC implemented a fundraising campaign to Save MSC. The fundraising efforts were successful in keeping MSC open and providing a solid financial foundation to move forward into the future.
In 2022, MSC found it necessary to discontinue providing Community Living Supports due to the lack of applicants to staff the program. The cost and provisions of providing the service became more than the funding provided by the service and the resources available to provide the service.
Currently, MSC serves 29 individuals through a combination of Community Access Group/Individual services. MSC employs 14 staff with 10 full-time and 4 part-time employees.
