Guilford County government constantly faces a lot of difficult challenges and now county leaders are planning to take on another one in a major way: Establish and open a Guilford County Women’s and Children’s Recovery Center, a place that will take in mothers with substance abuse problems and also take in their children.

That way the family will be able to remain together while the mother gets help.

The ambitious project is one that Guilford County Commissioner Kay Cashion has wanted to see happen for a long time and now the county is finally moving forward with the project.

The first step in the process will take place on Friday, Sept. 29, when a committee of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. in the large conference room on the third floor of the county-owned Truist Building at 201 W. Market St. in Greensboro.  At that meeting, several commissioners and county staff will discuss a timeline for the project as well as begin considering location criteria and other matters.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said county staff is already searching for a suitable building to purchase and he added that the new center will meet a need that currently isn’t being met.

Cashion will chair the committee overseeing the project while Commissioner Frankie Jones, Jr. will be vice chair. Commissioner Alan Perdue will also serve on that committee.

The committee is charged with planning and creating recommendations for the center in an effort to provide “well-rounded support” to the community.

Currently, the project’s cost is undetermined and no care providers have been selected.