New Community Center Opens In Bristol Twp.

The threat of rain and cold weather couldn’t keep people away as the Martha Miller No Longer Bound Community Center held its grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday.

Tucked in the back of the Bloomsdale-Fleetwing section of Bristol Township at 5616 Mitchell Road, the morning started with an open house and health fair, with local businesses and health services displaying information for the visitors to pick up, including Lower Bucks Hospital, Keystone First, the Bucks County Drug & Alcohol Commission, and many others.

The dedication ceremony started at 11 a.m. with opening remarks by Juanita Tiggett-Slaton, giving a quick background about No Longer Bound and the founder, Martha Miller.

Bucks County Commissioners Bob Harvie and Diane Ellis-Marseglia next spoke, praising the efforts of No Longer Bound and how effective they have been in helping the community since its founding.

“We ended up with a project that is strong and beautiful, and that’s how you make strong communities,” Marseglia stated. 

Reverend James Evans III gave the dedication calling on the residents of the community to make a stand.

“If there is going to be a change, that means all of us have to get together shoulder to shoulder, and stand to let our children know we care what they do,” he said.

He also added praise to founder Martha Miller, and charged the staff and community to keep her dreams and goals at the heart of all that is done through the community center that bears her name.

The ceremony moved outside, where the board and speakers gathered to cut the ceremonial ribbon and officially open the center for the community, with center director Damita Harvey making the cut alongside Evans.

And with the ribbon cut, the celebration returned inside as the rain began to fall, but it did not dampen the spirits of those in attendance.

The center is designed to be a gathering point for the community, with offices and a large conference room for meetings and gatherings. Outside is a large yard and basketball courts. 

The new building is named after No Longer Bound’s founder, Miller, who has spent several decades serving her community by providing food security, nutrition education, training, and substance use prevention.

No Longer Bound is a nonprofit committed to improving the lives of those within the Bristol Township community.

The county funded the construction of the new modular center on county-owned land using COVID-19 relief money.

A previous small community center at the site was destroyed in a 2018 arson.

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