Penn House is now part of the Ballard Community Center. The two charities merged Tuesday.

“Both locations will remain open – Penn House in east Lawrence, Ballard Center in north Lawrence,” said Chip Blase, vice president in charge of operations at the Ballard Community Center.

The two programs combined administrations and governing boards.

Six members of the Penn House board have been added to the Ballard Community Center’s 15-member board. Penn House director Linda Lassen now answers to Dianne Ensminger, president and CEO at Ballard Community Center.

“I think this is a great deal,” Lassen said. “It’s going to let us grow and help more people than we are now.”

Lassen, 56, has worked at Penn House since it opened in 1969. “I started out as a client and then as a volunteer,” she said. “Then I ended up running the place.”

Ballard Community Center opened in 1964.

The programs – Ballard Community Center at 708 Elm St., Penn House at 1035 Pa. – each provide food, clothing, rent and utility help to those in need. Together, they expect to serve 12,000 adults and children annually.

The merger was heartily endorsed by both the Douglas County Community Foundation and the United Way of Douglas County.

United Way grants account for roughly two-thirds of Penn House’s $100,000-a-year budget and 20 percent of Ballard Community Center’s $500,000 budget.

Half of the Ballard Community Center’s budget comes from fees paid by parents of children in its early education program.

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The merger does not affect the Lawrence Social Service League, which last month announced it was running out of money.

“I’m glad to see they’re merging; they’re doing what’s best for them,” said Larry Northrop, president of the league’s board. “But we’re unique in what we do and we’d like to keep it that way.”

Founded in 1863 to help survivors of victims of William Quantrill’s murderous raid, the league operates a thrift shop at 905 R.I.

“We own the building and we’re tax-free, so we can keep going,” Northrop said. “We’re continually having to find ways to do more with less.”

The league lost its United Way funding in 2004.