Helping Hands: Many local services available for people in need.
By TANYA EISERER / Abilene Reporter-News
A vast array of agencies - too many to name - provide shelter and food to Abilene's population living on the edge of society.
Service providers, who deal with homeless and working-poor individuals, say that Abilenians are generous with both time and money.
"Abilene is a very caring and giving community," said Captain Edward Alonzo, head of the local Salvation Army.
Local agencies that provide services to homeless and needy persons include:
n Hope Haven, located at 1109 Oak, is a 32-bed transitional shelter where people can stay for up to one year. There are four family units, a men's dormitory and a women's dormitory.
"We try to work with the whole person to help them reach a level of self-sufficiency," said Belinda Cook, Hope Haven's executive director.
Hope Haven conducts pre-admission screening for contagious diseases. The shelter provides a variety of services, including education, training in finding work and counseling. Residents pay a token $1 per month in rent.
-- The Salvation Army, located at 1726 Butternut, provides a maximum of three days shelter to men, women and children. It is a 25-bed shelter with nine beds for women and children and 16 beds for men.
Alonzo said the Salvation Army typically serves three different types of homeless individuals: people who live on the streets in one community; people who become homeless because they've been displaced from their home or job; and transients who travel around the country.
"The age is getting younger," Alonzo said. "Up until 10 years ago, the average age of a homeless person was 50 plus. Now the average age is 22."
he Salvation Army also provides three meals a day to 60-85 individuals. Through its Corps Salvage and Rehabilitation Center, the organization provides drug and alcohol addiction assistance. A maximum of 14 men and three women can be in the program.
The Salvation Army also has a transitional housing program where it can house up to four families in furnished apartments. The phone number is 677-1408.
-- Serenity House, a substance abuse treatment program located 150 Orange Street, can house up to 34 people in its detoxification and transitional housing programs. In 1996, Serenity House served 616 people, including 37 people who admitted to being homeless and 449 people who were unemployed. The phone number is 673-6489.
-- The Noah Project, a battered women's shelter, provides emergency housing for women and their children for up to six weeks.
"We're here to provide that safe haven so they can make decisions," explained Susan Keeling, the Noah Project's executive director.
They served about 640 women and children in 1996 - a 10 percent increase over the previous year, Keeling said. The phone number is 676-7107
-- First Christian Church's Breakfast on Beech Street, located 1420 N. Third, was designed to meet the needs of the working poor. Some homeless individuals also take advantage of the program.
"We serve the breakfast early so that they can get on to their jobs," said the Rev. Jim Zug. "We try to shore up and support the people who are trying to make it on a minimum wage job."
BOBS serves breakfast and provides a sack lunch to about 20 people Monday through Friday. The phone number is 677-2186.
- The Presbyterian Medical Care Mission, 302 Medical Drive, served 2,900 indigent individuals in 1996, said Kevin Wood, executive director.
"The vast majority of our patients are at a 100 percent of the poverty level or below," Wood said. "They may be living somewhere, but if they lose their jobs, they're going to be living on the streets."
The phone number is 672-5601.
- The Mission, located at 234 Fannin, is a new inner-city Christian ministry aimed at reaching out to homeless and needy persons. Pastor Mark Hewitt eventually plans to house a clothes closet, a food pantry and bathing facilities on the premises. The phone number is 670-0246.
- Love and Care Ministries, 234 Fannin, is an ecumenical organization that delivers sack lunches to the needy on Sundays. The phone number is 670-0499.
- Baptist Social Ministries, 1073 Sycamore, operates a food pantry at the Templo Bautista Church. The phone number is 676-5521.
- Habitat for Humanity, 5426 N. Ninth, works to provide housing for needy families. For information, call 695-4663.
- First Baptist Church, 1333 N. Third, gives out sack lunches five days a week from 11:30 a.m.-noon. The phone number is 673-5031.
- First Baptist's Family Life Center, 1442 N. Second, is primarly a recreational facility, but the church allows homeless individuals to shower on the premises.
"Some of them come once a month; some of them come once a week," said Rob Rankin, acting director. "Some of them come once a week."
The phone number is 675-8144.
Other churches and organizations also provide assistance to homeless
and working-poor individuals. For more information about where to help or
to seek assistance, individuals can contact Call For Help at 673-8211.