Clayton Lewistown Renovates Building with the Dream Center

Clayton Home Building Group® team members from the Clayton Lewistown home building facility recently worked with the Mifflin County Dream Center, which helps families and individuals in Mifflin County, PA through times of need, to convert a three-story, 3,400-square-foot Belleville building into a sober living house. The newly renovated building will provide people recently released from incarceration with a place to live as they transition back into society.

Clayton Lewistown team members also attended the grand opening on June 9. Production Manager Josh Grill, who leads the facility’s partnership with the Dream Center, helped christen the building in a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Work on the sober living house was broken down into five separate trips through February and March 2026, comprising nearly 50 team members each.

Grill led the operation. Each morning of the project, he opened the building and briefed team members on the goals for that day before handing supervisory duties off to a department manager.

Once renovations began, team members were excited to give back to the community by applying skills that they learned and refined at Clayton Lewistown. They mudded and sanded drywall around the building and painted all the ceilings and walls.

“The team was excited to go, and they felt like they could use their skillset from their jobs to make a difference,” said Grill.

A major challenge emerged when team members identified a damaged feature wall that needed significant repairs. Grill submitted an idea to completely reframe the wall.

Now, residents of the building can enjoy a decorative feature wall across from a fireplace and a television.

“I had a wonderful time doing the work at the Dream Center, and volunteering to help the community, and would like to see more people doing it to help,” said Anthony Mooney, a mill department team member.

Residents of the remodeled building, dubbed the Restoration House, will go through a six-month program that combines structured work and life-skills training.

“The scope and quality of the work completed by Clayton team members was outstanding, and we are incredibly thankful,” said Dan Elsesser, interim director of Mifflin County Dream Center. “Projects of that size require manpower and skill, and Clayton delivered both in a way that truly made a difference.”

This marked the latest initiative in a longstanding partnership between Clayton Lewistown and the Dream Center. From December 2022 through 2025, team members helped convert an old, abandoned hardware store in Burnham, PA into a home office for the Dream Center, complete with a food pantry and a kitchen, where the organization serves monthly community meals.

“We’ve been partnered with the Dream Center since 2022, and I personally love knowing that I can help contribute to the community and leave a lasting impact,” said Grill.

Clayton Lewistown team members were able to participate in the renovations through Clayton Impact, which encourages team members to use their Volunteer Time Off (VTO). Team members receive eight hours of paid VTO per year to make a difference and be a force for good in their local communities.