Our goal is to bring activities and programs to the west side of Chautauqua County which include: Findley Lake, Ripley, Westfield, Mayville, Chautauqua, North Harmony, Harmony (Panama), Clymer, and Sherman. As you can see with this map Chautauqua Lake divides our county in the middle. In the past, all our Human Service programs and agencies within our county have been based out of either North Cou
nty (Dunkirk) or South County (Jamestown). The Rural Center board sees a gap and need in our county for the west part of Chautauqua County, and have been striving for three years to bring this vision to these communities. We have chosen Sherman for the location of this facility for one reason, its location! Sherman is the center of all 9 communities making it the hub of the rural area of Chautauqua County. Our hope is to help cut down the huge problem of transportation we see in the Human Service agencies within this county, by offering services within 10 miles or so of their home rather 20 or 30 miles from their home. Even though some programs and agencies can not be brought to the west side of the county, and there will still be a need to travel to the north and south part of the county, the Rural Center will be able to offer programs and education that can help cut down on the travel.
