Mission cuts back to focus on hungry and homeless

The mission closed its thrift shops and recycling program.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Donations to the New Castle City Rescue Mission started to drop off dramatically shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.
Money that once went to help the homeless and hungry was now being diverted to help the victims of the terrorist attacks.
The loss, at first, seemed traumatic to executive director Kevin Green, but he now knows it was a signal for change.
"We needed to trim our costs substantially. We looked at focusing back on our core," Green said.
Cutbacks
The mission, which opened its doors in 1911, shut down two thrift stores and a newspaper recycling operation, and it laid off 12 workers.
"We're here to preach a ministry, feed the hungry and house the homeless. Thrift stores and recycling are wonderful, but I felt it was a distraction from our main mission," Green said.
The City Rescue Mission is one of 18 United Way Agencies in Lawrence County that receive money from the yearly fund drive. The UW is working to raise $700,000 this year.
The City Rescue Mission gets about $30,000 from the UW, about 2 percent of its annual $1.2 million budget. The rest comes from private donations, Green said.
The men's ministry is probably the mission's most visible program, offering housing to transient and homeless men at their Croton Avenue facility.
About 40 men are in the mission's True Life Men's Ministry, an 11-month program where men must participate in devotional services, Bible study and pursue work.
An example
Robert Welch first came to the mission in 1998 and then went to prison for five years on a sexual offense. He came back after he served his time.
"I felt that God wanted me to come back here," he said. "After three months of looking for work, God told me to join the program. My only alternative was to leave the state and look for work."
Welch said he's learned much about himself through the Bible study and counseling at the mission. He's also put his cooking skills, something he learned in prison, to work in the mission's kitchen, where meals are prepared for residents. Lunch is served daily to anyone needing a meal.
He said his experience at the City Rescue Mission has him considering Christian missionary work in the future.
Another 20 men are housed at the Croton facility in the recovery program, which lasts about 30 days. Six to eight beds are set aside for transient men, who can stay for three days to a week.
Food bank
The City Rescue Mission also operates a food bank that serves 200 families a month.
Stacks of canned foods and nonperishable items line the walls of the first-floor food bank.
Linda Krumpe, director of Family Care Ministries at the mission, said families can come in every 10 days and stock up. There are also personal care items such as shampoo and soap, as well as baby wipes and diapers.
At Christmas, the mission provides food, clothing and toys.
Green cautions it's not a toy program, but a program to provide necessities to families during the holidays. The mission also offers Thanksgiving food baskets and back-to-school supplies.
Other mission programs are Covenant House, a facility for homeless families.
Green said the families are permitted to stay only 30 days and must look for work. They are introduced to social service agencies that can help them find work, housing and assistance, he said.
All participate in devotions.
Children are also a focus of the mission. The Sankey Youth Center on Grant Street offers after-school programs such as tutoring and Christian activities.
cioffi@vindy.com