Rescue Mission hopes to stay on North Side

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The potential relocation of the future Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley will be the topic of a meeting April 16 at the Eugenia Atkinson Rec Center, 903 Otis St. at 5:30 p.m.

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and Nate Pinkard will host the public meeting.

The new shelter’s location had been planned for the 17 acres that the Rescue Mission owns at Erie Street and Delason Avenue on the city’s South Side.

However, Rescue Mission’s leaders said in a news release that discussions are underway with the mayor, city council and the Mahoning County Land Bank about finding a more suitable location.

The mission has been fundraising for a $4.95 million replacement shelter, and hopes to begin construction this year.

The organization is “desperate” to replace its current facility on 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. because it’s “beyond repair,” officials have said.

“We hope to stay on the North Side and grow greater partnership and collaborations,” John Muckridge III, Rescue Mission CEO and president, said in the release.

The North Side location gives the Rescue Mission’s homeless clients access to bus lines and resources including Mercy Health and Goodwill, he said.

The Rescue Mission offers free meals three times daily and overnight shelter to men, woman and children.