programs provided by the Mission: Shelter/ Rehabilitation
Up to 56 men and 32 women and children can be housed at the Washington City Mission and Avis Arbor Women and Children’s Shelter respectively.
Emergency Assistance
Emergency food clothing and other household items are offered to victims of fire, natural disasters such as hurricanes and the needy.
The Arbuckle Medical Clinic provides free preventive, primary, and urgent health care to the Washington City Mission’s 100 residents and many other homeless and uninsured neighbors in our community. The clinic works interdependently with all services offered at the Washington City Mission and cooperatively with community agencies and institutions such as assisted-care homes, addiction treatment centers, the Veterans Administration, and the Washington Hospital.
Food
 More than 2500 meals are served weekly to residents and the working poor of our community. We serve anyone who walks in from the street. The Washington City Mission serves as a food distribution center, accepting surplus perishable food items and then distributing them to other shelter and service providers to feed additional homeless and near homeless.
Christ Centered Training and Rehabilitation
All residents participate in Christ-centered rehabilitation. They attend chapel programs on Sunday mornings, Thursday evenings and daily morning devotions.
Other Programs
Recovery In Christ
Recovery in Christ program deals with the underlying causes of homelessness and addiction in an intense and dynamic way. In addition, individual and group pastoral counseling is provided along with other supportive services to those who are in need.
Work Readiness Program
Work Out
The Work Out program is for residents who have successfully completed the first phase of the program Participants work for employers outside of the Mission, while continuing to receive the full support of all the Mission’s services and programs. They can move into our Next=Step transitional housing program. Upon reaching a savings goal, they are then helped in making a healthy transition to independent living.
Program Insight
Fully rehabilitating the body, mind, and spirit requires long-term shelter and comprehensive support. To reach and affect the causes of homelessness, the Mission also provides these crucial services: job training and life-skills classes to prepare Mission residents for their return to the workplace and independent living; social service referrals and transportation assistance; professional and supportive counseling for addiction, mental health, and spiritual restoration. Each resident is expected to also be productive at the Mission in one of the following areas: housekeeping, thrift store, donation center, or kitchen support. Free health care is provided in the Arbuckle Medical Clinic.
We meet the daily challenges of hunger and poor nutrition in the Mission’s kitchen, pantry, and food-share programs. In Fiscal Year 2005, we served 132,385 nourishing meals to residents and low-income, walk-in guests, many of whom are among the hundreds of seniors, disabled people, and families who receive free household groceries. Both kitchen and pantry groceries supplement their needs so the population we service can afford costly housing and medicine—and remain independent. And giving freely as we have freely received, the Mission also redistributes surplus food to other charitable agencies throughout surrounding counties, including the Mon Valley Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, and Mel Blount Youth Home.
Receiving essential items or replacing those lost to fires, floods, and crime, nearly 5,700 individuals, families, and residents used the free clothing and furniture room at the Mission’s donation center. A small fleet of moving vans receives donations from community homes and businesses and delivers them to the warehouse and our four Hidden Treasure stores. People visiting or entering the Mission may request needed household items and clothing—even suits and dresses/attire appropriate for church services and job interviews. Residents departing for independent housing may choose furniture for the new residence, and the Mission’s moving vans will help them make the move. In times of crisis, recovery, and success, the Mission is here to serve.
Every night, men, women, and children have a safe home in our Men’s Shelter and Avis Arbor Women and Children’s Shelter; last year, 656 different people resided there for an average of six months. During the winter, even the chapel becomes an overflow shelter. We have learned that the longer a resident actively participates in the Mission’s programs, the more likely he or she will remain independent in the future. People who become homeless while employed may enter the Mission’s 30-Days plus program to regroup, save money, and find new housing without having to endure the additional stress of being homeless. Residents in the Next Step program work outside the Mission and continue residing there to save money and prepare for independent living. Of the men and women who complete the Mission’s rehabilitation shelter programs, 65% secure independent living accommodations.
Staff members, volunteers, residents—we work together to sustain the Mission, serving community and one another. Residents have the opportunity to participate in recovery counseling and Work Readiness, our job-training program. As caring workplaces and real businesses, the Mission’s kitchen, donation center, and shelters also help residents to learn and develop marketable job skills, personal management, and a strong work ethic. Many find service positions in retail stores, restaurants, and home-service businesses; a few have become warehouse managers, assistants and chefs in elegant restaurants, and the drivers and owners of trucking companies. Living with responsibility and support at the Mission, residents regain confidence, self-worth, and the opportunity to re-enter the competitive economy as reliable employees.
Even more success stories are emerging from an intensive Vocational Trades program. Our Building Trades Counselor leads not only the maintenance of nine buildings and four stores, but also the training of the residents in his walking classroom—the Mission itself. When exceptional residents show skill and passion for vocational trades work, the Building Trades Counselor recruits them to learn and complete multiple tasks and challenging projects vital to the Mission’s operations: electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning maintenance; building security, rehabilitation, and renovation; and automotive and appliance repair. The materials we need to maintain the Mission we also use to educate residents.
After finishing their long workday, both trainer and students meet in the maintenance office to continue studies with practical seminars. These diligent residents become jacks-of-all-trades—better known in the employment-ads as maintenance supervisors and building managers for educational facilities, office complexes, assisted-living homes, and retirement communities. Others employ their specialized skills and talents as automotive technicians, construction workers, and carpenters.
Simply put, the Mission’s residents can and do become productive employees and strong neighbors—many have returned to the Mission as gainfully employed volunteers. Work skills learned and refined in the Work Readiness and Vocational Trades programs frequently lead to better-paying jobs in the expanding service sectors of our local and national economy. Better-paying jobs with benefits and opportunity for advancement (even ownership) make housing attainable, financial security possible—and independent living real.
Residents become housemates and co-workers, staff members remain friends and mentors, and volunteers are always benefactors and neighbors. All are welcome at the Washington City Mission. Together, we follow the simple, universal messages found throughout the Bible: love God with all your heart, love your neighbor as yourself, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. |
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