Those who seek help at the Millvale branch of North Hills Community Outreach know to keep their voices low when talking about their financial woes with staff members.

"The problem we have is an area downstairs that's quite small," said Carol Ranallo, manager of the Millvale site. "There's no waiting area in the reception room, which means that there's a lot of whispering going on. We do everything in our effort to respect the confidentiality of all clients, but because of space restraints, this is a challenge."

That's about to change. A plan to move the outreach branch into an expanded Millvale community center is expected to provide enough privacy for people to speak openly with staff about their problems.

The Millvale branch on North Avenue was opened 10 years ago to help financially troubled residents in the tiny working-class town and their neighbors along the Allegheny River corridor as far north as Cheswick. The number of people seeking assistance has grown steadily.

"When we opened the [Millvale] satellite in '93, we served 74 families," said Fay Morgan, executive director of North Hills Community Outreach. "In 1998, it was 578, and this [fiscal] year, we're already over 1,000 families."

In 2001, the outreach board formed a committee to search for a larger site for the Millvale office. It zeroed in on the borough's community center on Lincoln Avenue.

The community center is in the former St. Ann School, a 30-year-old building that has a gymnasium and a kitchen and is now used to host events such as bingo games and baby showers.

"We approached the borough because we felt [the community center building] was a relatively young building compared to the others, and it would support several more stories," said outreach board member David Bursic, president and chief executive officer of West View Savings.

Bursic, 42, of McCandless, was asked to serve as chairman of the satellite expansion committee. He has a personal interest in helping Millvale because it's his hometown.

"Because I grew up there, I know a lot about the people and the needs of the community," he said. "And I wanted to give something back."

A feasibility study indicated that the project looked promising and the borough offered its full support.

"The outreach has been a wonderful asset. We appreciate what they do for the citizens," said Millvale Mayor James Burn. "This project is the next logical step in the growth of our partnership with the NHCO to continue to provide services to the borough and surrounding communities.

"Everyone is looking to help in any way they can."

The addition of two floors plus an expansion is expected to cost $1.8 million to $2 million, Morgan said.

Because the project is a municipal and nonprofit partnership, the outreach program will be able to access more government funding for the expansion than either entity could raise on its own, Morgan said. She is optimistic that financial obligations will be met in time for construction to begin in early 2005. The building is slated to open in early 2006.

"We have proposals pending with federal, state and county sources," said Morgan, adding that the organization also will rely on grass-roots fund-raising for about $100,000 from the public.

The outreach program also is counting on donations of labor and materials. "We will need help from people of goodwill beyond the borders of Millvale."

To get the project off the ground, St. Margaret Foundation provided a grant to pay for the initial architectural drawings and the business plan. Guardian self-storage in O'Hara has donated storage space.

Morgan described the joint venture as a win-win-win situation. "It will help the borough have the services it needs, it will help NHCO have the space we need, and it will help all the communities on the northern shore, in addition to bringing more people in to work in Millvale."

The building will include rental space for nonprofit agencies such as Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. The South Side-based organization has looked at ways to expand its services over the years, said executive director B.J. Horn, "and the reason we're looking at the space in Millvale is because our plan calls for us to be able to identify areas of expansion. The time frame they have is aligned with what we were looking at, and the space is attractive to us because it will be accessible."

She added that the location also will allow the organzation to provide services to more people. "Sometimes travel is a barrier, and it becomes burdensome. This is about giving people choices."

Carlow College also has agreed to provide classes in the new facility, which will include one or two classrooms.

"There's additional space for two or three more nonprofit tenants," said Morgan, adding that she hopes one of those tenants will be a child-care business.

Ranallo is thrilled that the new center will allow more people to work as volunteers with the outreach program. "I have retired social workers, teachers and attorneys who would love to volunteer, but I don't have any place for them to sit down and work with somebody. [The new building] will provide more opportunities for people to help their neighbors in need."

Morgan applauded borough officials for their role in securing the site.

"Mayor Burn has been helping us [since the satellite was established]," she said. "The borough is very forward-thinking and progressive and will make a great partner for us as we work to ensure that families in desperate situations can have a place to come."

She said many communities don't address the problem of people in need because it's a difficult problem to tackle. "But Millvale is willing to build a facility with us that will take care of other communities in need as well. They have compassionate and visionary leaders who want the future to be better, and they don't ignore that problems exist."