ATTLEBORO - The concept of establishing a central location for human services in the Attleboro area has taken root.

At a meeting Wednesday at the United Way office to discuss the proposal, about 50 representatives of various agencies, organizations, churches and governmental departments agreed with the need and the hope of someday having the Greater Attleboro Self-Sufficiency Center, so many of the services they provide can be offered in one building.

"Today we want to plant a seed," said Dot Embree, executive director of the Attleboro Area Council of Churches and president of the Attleboro Area Homeless Coalition, who helped develop the proposal.

Embree asked for suggestions, and for volunteers to form a feasibility study committee to determine if a center could be established in the city. Once that committee meets, Embree said another general meeting of agency representatives like the one held Wednesday will be scheduled.

The idea, Embree said, was sparked by the effort of the council and the coalition to work collaboratively with other agencies to help people in need, and that led to the realization that the various programs should be housed under one roof. "It would be great to have a big building with all of us there working for the same thing," Embree said.

Irene Frechette of the local St. Vincent de Paul Society, who has been working with Embree on the proposal, said the intent is to house multiple agencies at one site to serve people in need in Attleboro and the surrounding communities of North Attleboro, Mansfield, Norton, Seekonk and Rehoboth.

Offices for state, local, community and faith-based agencies could be located there, she said, and provide services not only to the homeless, but especially to the working poor who are having difficulty keeping their lives together and paying their everyday expenses.

The services, she said, could include food, clothing, rental and fuel assistance, job training, health care information, legal advice, housing advocacy, mental health outreach, budget and credit counseling, immigration services and transportation help.

The building, she said, would not only need enough space for the agencies to have offices there, but would also have to be centrally located and handicap accessible, and have a loading dock for food deliveries and distribution.

Jack Lank, president of the Attleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, said he would like to involve the business community in the effort. He praised the idea of a center, saying it would streamline the process for people in need of assistance who now have to go from agency to agency and tell their story.

The center, he said, would provide them with "one-stop shopping," and would also cut costs for agencies that would have more resources at their disposal.

Representatives of the various agencies spent much of Wednesday's meeting expressing their frustration in trying to help people in need, especially when not enough funding is available.

They acknowledged that although services are being provided, the system is fragmented, and better communication is key, which would be helped by having many of the agencies in a central location.

But they also said that establishing the center would be a massive undertaking, and funding would be a key, an issue that would be addressed as part of the feasibility study. Those in attendance were asked to go back to their agencies and find out if they would be willing to locate an office in the center if a building is found, and to pay rent for the space, which would help fund the building.

A new non-profit organization would be established to oversee the center, and would be governed by a board of directors.