Local Homeless Shelter Serving Community's Needs
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
The temporary homeless shelter opened Dec. 1 and is in the gymnasium of New Life Christian Church, 744 S. CR 325E, Warsaw, off of U.S. 30.
Salvation Army, New Life Christian Church and the Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association started the temporary shelter that will be open until Feb. 28.[[In-content Ad]]The shelter houses anyone who is homeless, including men, women and children. Those who stay at the shelter are provided with dinner, breakfast, sleeping quarters and showers.
Jody and Jerry Eccles, shelter managers, have direct contact with those who stay at the shelter each night.
The Eccles' responsibilities are to check in those who stay at the shelter and cook dinner and breakfast. The couple stays overnight at the shelter with the homeless and prays with them if they ask.
Check-in is at 7 p.m. seven days a week and ends at 10 p.m. each night. Those who stay at the shelter are required to leave at 7 a.m. each morning, but are allowed to return at 7 p.m. each night.
People who stay at the shelter also have the opportunity to attend the church's regularly scheduled Wednesday night and Sunday church services.
"When the people who stay at the shelter first walk through the door they have a look of relief on their faces to know they have a warm place to stay," Jody said.
The Eccles said they see an average of two to six people who stay at the shelter each night and expect the number to increase.
Being homeless hits close to home for the Eccles. They were homeless last summer for two months after Jerry lost his job, and the couple lived in a tent. They are using their experiences to minister to the people who enter the shelter's doors.
"We treat those who stay at the shelter like family. The shelter is not a permanent solution, but allows them to look for work during the day and have a place to stay at night," Jerry said.
Don Reynolds, New Life Christian Church member, drives the church van each night and picks up people at Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department or the Warsaw Police Department and takes them to the shelter.
Those who stay at the shelter wake up at 6 a.m. and have breakfast at 6:30 a.m. They are transported back to the drop off sites at WPD and KCSD at 7 a.m. each morning.
"On the ride over to the shelter, we talk about the weather and gas prices. They are just like any other person, but are just down on their luck," Reynolds said.
He said he recently picked up a couple from Michigan. The husband had lost his job and they needed to stay at the shelter.
This isn't the first time the church has had a homeless shelter. The church ran a homeless shelter five years ago for two months and housed about five people a night, according to New Life Christian Church Pastor John Lowe II.
Lowe and Ken Locke, Salvation Army community ministries director, came up with the idea for the shelter.
"It doesn't take much for a person to find themselves homeless. We don't want to enable those who stay at the shelter, but equip them with the tools they need," Lowe said.
Lowe said a success story already has happened at the shelter.
He said the first night the shelter opened a woman, who had been living in a car with her four children, stayed at the shelter for a night. The father was in jail and the family did not have a place to go so they stayed at the shelter, Lowe said. The shelter worked to place the children with their mother's sister and directed the mother to services she needed.
He expects the number of people who stay at the shelter to increase as more people find out about the shelter.
Lowe said community support for the shelter has been overwhelming.
He said a local salon owner heard about the shelter and offered to provide free haircuts for those who stay at the shelter.
The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and New Life Christian Church are providing funds for the shelter. Financial donations also are accepted by the Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association, P.O. Box 1797, Warsaw, IN 46581.
For more information about the shelter, call Lowe at 574-269-5851.
The temporary homeless shelter opened Dec. 1 and is in the gymnasium of New Life Christian Church, 744 S. CR 325E, Warsaw, off of U.S. 30.
Salvation Army, New Life Christian Church and the Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association started the temporary shelter that will be open until Feb. 28.[[In-content Ad]]The shelter houses anyone who is homeless, including men, women and children. Those who stay at the shelter are provided with dinner, breakfast, sleeping quarters and showers.
Jody and Jerry Eccles, shelter managers, have direct contact with those who stay at the shelter each night.
The Eccles' responsibilities are to check in those who stay at the shelter and cook dinner and breakfast. The couple stays overnight at the shelter with the homeless and prays with them if they ask.
Check-in is at 7 p.m. seven days a week and ends at 10 p.m. each night. Those who stay at the shelter are required to leave at 7 a.m. each morning, but are allowed to return at 7 p.m. each night.
People who stay at the shelter also have the opportunity to attend the church's regularly scheduled Wednesday night and Sunday church services.
"When the people who stay at the shelter first walk through the door they have a look of relief on their faces to know they have a warm place to stay," Jody said.
The Eccles said they see an average of two to six people who stay at the shelter each night and expect the number to increase.
Being homeless hits close to home for the Eccles. They were homeless last summer for two months after Jerry lost his job, and the couple lived in a tent. They are using their experiences to minister to the people who enter the shelter's doors.
"We treat those who stay at the shelter like family. The shelter is not a permanent solution, but allows them to look for work during the day and have a place to stay at night," Jerry said.
Don Reynolds, New Life Christian Church member, drives the church van each night and picks up people at Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department or the Warsaw Police Department and takes them to the shelter.
Those who stay at the shelter wake up at 6 a.m. and have breakfast at 6:30 a.m. They are transported back to the drop off sites at WPD and KCSD at 7 a.m. each morning.
"On the ride over to the shelter, we talk about the weather and gas prices. They are just like any other person, but are just down on their luck," Reynolds said.
He said he recently picked up a couple from Michigan. The husband had lost his job and they needed to stay at the shelter.
This isn't the first time the church has had a homeless shelter. The church ran a homeless shelter five years ago for two months and housed about five people a night, according to New Life Christian Church Pastor John Lowe II.
Lowe and Ken Locke, Salvation Army community ministries director, came up with the idea for the shelter.
"It doesn't take much for a person to find themselves homeless. We don't want to enable those who stay at the shelter, but equip them with the tools they need," Lowe said.
Lowe said a success story already has happened at the shelter.
He said the first night the shelter opened a woman, who had been living in a car with her four children, stayed at the shelter for a night. The father was in jail and the family did not have a place to go so they stayed at the shelter, Lowe said. The shelter worked to place the children with their mother's sister and directed the mother to services she needed.
He expects the number of people who stay at the shelter to increase as more people find out about the shelter.
Lowe said community support for the shelter has been overwhelming.
He said a local salon owner heard about the shelter and offered to provide free haircuts for those who stay at the shelter.
The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and New Life Christian Church are providing funds for the shelter. Financial donations also are accepted by the Greater Warsaw Ministerial Association, P.O. Box 1797, Warsaw, IN 46581.
For more information about the shelter, call Lowe at 574-269-5851.
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