|
||
|
Program Gears Up For Another Year |
||
|
By Jeff Mellott |
||
|
HARRISONBURG - A 15-week program that
provided shelter to the homeless through a network of community churches
provided 68 people with a place to go during the winter months, according to
the organization that provided the service. Making the Harrisonburg And Rockingham Thermal Shelter program
possible were 672 people who volunteered 4,710 hours, according to statistics
provided by Brooke Rodgers, executive director of HARTS. While the stated goal of the program was to provide a shelter
for the homeless, HARTS' president, the Rev. Jeff Butcher, said recently that
the effort also provided a means for members of the area's faith community to
strengthen their bonds with each other and their individual faith. ‘Came Together' HARTS, which modeled the homeless shelter programs in other
communities, including Charlottesville, created a network of 13 shelters and
six partner churches to provide the service to the homeless. The churches offered a roof and volunteers from mid-December
through the end of March. The effort created 105 consecutive nights where the
homeless could find dinner and breakfast, according to HARTS' report. "It went amazingly well," Butcher said. "It was
definitely an act of faith. We could have used another year to plan. But it
all worked out. It all came together." Meeting last summer, members of the community's interfaith
council considered what they could do to meet the needs of the homeless. The preference was and remains for a single central shelter,
said Ann Held, who is HARTS' vice president. Looking for alternatives, community leaders created a plan for a
network of churches that would each host the homeless for one week during the
winter. HARTS secured a $15,000 grant from the Harrisonburg
Redevelopment and Housing Authority and $30,000 from City Council. The $45,000 was about half of what HARTS officials said at the
time was necessary for the shelter program. By the time the program ended, HARTS collected another $10,000
in donations and $153,862 from in-kind contributions. The United Way also
provided $2,819 to supplement federal, state and local grants. The contributions brought the program's budget to more than $208,000,
according to HARTS Executive Director Brooke Rodgers. HARTS' board of directors is expected to meet next week and
elect new officers and prepare for next winter. Community Response The program, according to Held, helped humanize the homeless
issue. "These are not faceless people," Held said. "They
are individuals who are down on their luck and needed, not a handout, but a
compassionate hand to lift them up." Harrisonburg and Redevelopment Authority Executive Director
Michael Wong said the program's results opened his eyes to the number of
working poor who need help. "That surprised me," he said. Wong said the authority's investment in HARTS is part of the
agency's effort to provide housing. "We tried not to make it a government program," he
said. "It was a community response." Personal Impact Wong and others said the homeless were not the only ones
affected by the program. Held noted that the Islamic Association of Harrisonburg stepped
in to provide a shelter during the Christian holy periods of Christmas and
Easter. Butcher said it was "joyous" to see everyone work
together and the impact the program had on the volunteers. "People individually have gained confidence that they can
speak with and engage with people that are homeless," Butcher said.
"They were actually living out their faith." Contact Jeff Mellott at 574-6290 or [log in to unmask] |
||
|
|