Mayor Robert L. Bowser presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the recently renovated Tillmes House Girl's Crisis Center at the corner of Park Street and Park Avenue in East Orange this morning. Many local and state dignitaries were on hand for the celebration, including Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin.

The Tillmes House is a residential facility for young women from 13 to 18 which helps to return them to the community and to their families, or identify positive alternatives for the teens when family reunions are not possible.

The original Tillmes House was in Newark in the 1960s, the home of the Tillmes family who donated it for the purpose of rehabilitating troubled girls. In the 1980s, the house was moved to its present location on Park Street in East Orange, but it was destroyed by fire in 2004. Now, with the aid of many community sponsors and volunteers, it has been restored, and that's what today's celebration was all about.

You can learn more about the project from the Web site of the Community Agencies Corporation of NJ - http://www.cacofnj.org

This view shows the entrance to Tillmes House on Park Street. Other views of the renovated house are below.

The dining room. Tillmes House works with ten teens at any one time, providing them with a home-like atmosphere for a period between 30 and 90 days.

The renovated kitchen may appear complete, but the Center still needs dinnerware, glassware, silverware, tablecloths, pots and pans and many other items. If you can donate any of the above or wish to volunteer to help the project, pleases contact Ms. Judy Bennett by e-mail at [email protected]

The staff and the young women share a computer room where they can attend to the business of running the project, as well as provide modern educational research facilities. However, for entertainment purposes, they still need a TV and a DVD player as well as a Stereo System.

The large living room can be used for socializing, as well as group counseling. Just outside the door, you see a spacious deck, and they still need six white rocking chairs and white outdoor furniture. An outdoor grill would also be appreciated and put to good use.

Other news organizations will fill you in on the ceremony and all the visiting dignitaries and sponsors of the event. As usual, we try to focus on the historical aspects of any event and will try to get hold of those photographs of the renovation work you see in the display above so we can share them with you on our site.