The Midian Leadership Project cut the ribbon Monday on a newly renovated youth development facility on Charleston's West Side.

Organizers said it will hold various programs for young people to help develop them into community leaders through sports, social support and holistic education. This all started with a small group of student athletes in Charleston who wanted to build the community. A huge help in their funding was a $165,000 grant from the Lowe’s Hometown Initiative.

“We didn’t have anything like this. It was so easy to get into the wrong things. It was so easy to give up on something because of how low resources were," Turan Rush, the group's deputy director and chief operations officer, said. "Having something like this is a feeling that brings so much joy to us and everybody who is invested in it because you can literally see the change in the kids who come through that door.”

The big grant helped organizers build a new weight room, educational room and conference room.

In early 2021, Midian purchased a former industrial property on Park Avenue across from West Side Middle School and began the process of renovating it into a community center serving youth and young adults, according to the nonprofit group's website. The Midian Safe Haven opened in January 2022.