Faithful support, open hearts can preserve shelter

Shelter manager Terri Beard straightens up one of the bedrooms at the Community Religious Outreach Social Service (C.R.O.S.S.) facility in Shelbyville, which has already taken in homeless who are referred to the new shelter by area churches. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The last part of 2008 saw generous citizens and the support of area churches bring about the creation of a homeless shelter for Bedford County.

But now that it is up and running, ongoing support will be needed to keep it functioning through 2009.

All of the start-up expenses for C.R.O.S.S. (Community Religious Outreach Social Service) have been met, but those funds will only continue operations for another three weeks or so, said Carl Bailey, who worked for most of last year to create the shelter.

"It's been wonderful, the community has opened its wallets and donated financially and with in-kind donations," Bailey said. But as anyone who rents or owns their own home knows, those bills come due each month without fail.

At a minimum, the budget for the shelter is a little over $1,200 per month to cover utilities, food, insurance, and the variety of household items that is needed, and Bailey says he can not sustain that with his own resources.

The shelter is currently housing four residents, with two additional people coming in at the end of the week. All residents are sent to the shelter, which can house as many as 29, by church referral or from Centerstone.

Shelter manager Terri Beard has already moved into the facility to oversee the day-to-day operations. Beard has prior experience with the Shepherd's House homeless shelter in Tullahoma.

Future goals

To keep things running, Bailey says he will need a commitment from Bedford County's faith community. With 132 congregations in the county, Bailey is certain that the shelter would be able to continue operations if each church provided a nominal sum each month of about $20.

With that kind of funding, Bailey says, it would make it possible to open an envisioned care center, which he believes would impact the poverty level in the county by providing affordable child care so that single parents can work to get on their feet instead of staying at home.

"We intend to provide child care hopefully in the $35 to $50 per week price range instead of the current rate," which Bailey says can be more than $100 per week.

Bailey is also asking for the occasional use of a church vehicle, periodic volunteer efforts from church members and pastoral ministry to the shelter's residents, in groups or for individuals.

He will soon be sending out a letter of thanks to churches that will also list the shelter's ongoing needs. For the larger churches in town, a contribution of $20 per month wouldn't be much of a problem, but could be a struggle for the smaller ones, he said.

Improvements made

The donations to the shelter so far have been impressive. What was once "a bare, cold building" has been turned into a home, with furnishings for the living room, two refrigerators and a pair of freezers, two microwaves and other appliances provided. Residents were eating off of paper plates prior to the donation of dishes.

Shelter residents are sleeping on surplus cots from the Red Cross until bunk beds can be found, Bailey said. A case of sheets and pillow cases have already been donated by an Army sergeant who is currently serving in Afghanistan.

"Everything in this building has been donated," Bailey said.

Budget battle

Two churches have already pledged monthly support to the shelter and a third is working on it. The problem is that the sour economy is hitting the churches especially hard this time of year and most have already drawn up annual budgets.

But one small church has come up with a solution to getting around a tight budget, Bailey said. One of the 12 elders writes a personal check each month to keep things running.

"That's a tremendous strategy for a church that already has their budget written in stone, but want to help out," Bailey said. Most churches have people that attend that can afford to write a small check if the budget is too tight, he explained.

"The worst thing I can conceive of is getting this up and running and then have to close our doors," Bailey said. "It would just kill me. I hope every church can find it in their heart to do something."