Posted: 11:00 a.m.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Middletown’s Hope House considers merger, move
out of downtown
By http://www.journal-news.com/staff/rick-mccrabb/" rel="nofollow - Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
Middletown’s Hope House, a homeless shelter, has hired
two executives, and there is discussion about possibly merging with a Cincinnati mission and
moving the center out of downtown.
Rob
Fredericks and Jennifer Lawson have been hired as donor relations officer and
volunteer coordinator, respectively, and both see a bright future for Hope
House Mission even if it doesn’t merge with City Gospel Mission, a homeless
center in Cincinnati.
As
volunteer coordinator, Lawson has spent her first three months reaching out to
more affluent areas in a 20-mile radius of Middletown, she said. Her goal is to reduce
the burden that Hope House puts on some Middletown
churches by increasing its volunteer base.
Fredericks is unsure about a
timetable for the possible merger, but said it’s mostly dependant on Hope House
proving its financial stability. Fredericks
said Hope House has to increase its revenue by reaching more donors and raise
the salaries of those who work there. He said the staff is paid “way below”
market value, and the executive team at City Gospel Mission wants to see that
improve.
In
2013, according to its tax forms, Hope House received $502,000 in
contributions, $186,000 in grants, profited $175,000 off investments and
generated $874,000 in revenue. The center spent $474,000 on programs, $117,000
on administration, as part of its $735,000 in expenses, leaving Hope House
about $135,000 in the black, according to the forms it submitted.
The
Rev. Mitchell Foster, executive director, received $39,000 in wages and was the
only paid employee, according to the IRS.
Fredericks said if Hope House
and City Gospel Mission merge it would extend the reach of both homeless
shelters. He said both have their own brands, so there has been no decision on
a possible name of the center.
He
also declined to talk about possible locations for Hope House, which opened in
the former U.S. Hotel, 34 S. Main
St., 26 years ago. He said the men’s and women’s
centers are at capacity, and a new facility is needed.
The
City Gospel Mission opened a facility at 1805 Dalton Ave., in Cincinnati in April 2015. City Mission is located on the
site of the former Crosley Field, where the Cincinnati Reds played until
Riverfront Stadium opened in 1970. He said the original home plate and foul
poles at Crosley Field are marked in the new facility.
Whenever
you open a new building for the homeless it creates “a double-edge sword,” Fredericks said. Some
potential donors say, “You are making it too easy on these people,” and if the
facility needs repairs, donors say, “I’m not going to give because it’s
hopeless,” he said.
“You
have to have balance,” Fredericks
said. “We would like to be a community partner and not something that people
are afraid to walk in front of. We don’t like that either.”
If
Hope House, a faith-based ministry, serving homeless men, women and children in
Butler, Warren, and surrounding counties in
Southwest Ohio, decides to build, Fredericks
said he will lead a capital campaign that will cost millions, and the community
must be supportive.
No
matter where Hope House is located, or its name, homelessness doesn’t appear to
be going away. Hope House served 57,000 meals last year, all with products and
services that were donated, and typically the 45 beds for men and the 50 beds
for women and children were full every night.
“Homeless
shelters are needed,” Fredericks
said. “It’s unfortunate that homeless congregate in large urban areas. But the
reason they do that is because there are resources,, legitimate and
illegitimate. We have to have a shelter that’s close to them. We have to come where
the need is.”
City
Gospel Mission opened in an industrial park, and the two businesses there, “put
up a big stink,” Fredericks
said.
“It’s
a necessity to be somewhere, to be in someone’s back yard,” he said.
When
asked what leads to homelessness, Fredericks
said everyone has ability, opportunities and effort, and they’re born with the
first two.
“The
only thing we can control is our effort,” he said. “But if your opportunities
are so small it’s difficult, or impossible, to apply that effort. So it’s harder
to pull yourself up than it is to get that next drink, or that next drug that
numbs you from the reality of who you are.”
At
Hope House, residents receive comprehensive programs and services designed to
promote long-term, sustainable life transformation, Lawson said. She stressed
Hope House isn’t an emergency shelter.
“We
try to figure out what pieces are missing or broken, fix them so that you can
go back out there and be successful,” she said.
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