Goodie Bags

A box of treat bags were given for the children (and maybe some who are merely childlike) staying at the Rescue Mission. Rosemary and Patty presented this gift in behalf of the Altruza Club. Thank you for thinking of the children who are experiencing homelessness.

In fiscal year 2014, we logged 5297 overnight stays for children. The Mission is grateful for those who remember the kids who, for the time being, call the Mission "home."

Rollin'

Finally, the new Mission truck has been graced with the appropriate signage. We now have a “rolling billboard.” Thanks to grants from the Youngstown Foundation, the Home Savings Foundation, and the Ruth Beecher Charitable Trust who made this possible.

Fit and Focused

Since 1992, the Rescue Mission has operated from 2 locations: from our warehouse on Glenwood Ave and from the Emergency Shelter Building on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Beginning this week, there will be a change in business as usual.

In a press release, Executive Director, Jim Echement said:

 

The Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley’s Emergency Shelter continues to experience an unprecedented increase in the number of overnight guests and meals served to the community. The average overnight census has reached 130 people nightly from just 65 people five years ago.  In the same time frame, the average number of meals served has also increased dramatically from 273 daily, climbing to 631 daily meals this year.

 

At this increased service level our resources have been stretched necessitating change.  We are grateful that the community remains faithful and our revenue has remained steady ¾ yet it has not kept pace with the increased demand for services.  To that end, and to remain faithful to our primary purpose as an emergency shelter, The Mission must channel its resources toward the needs of our burgeoning overnight census: shelter, meals, educational, employment, and recovery programs.

 

The changes have resulted in consolidation of the two Rescue Mission locations. All services will now be operated from the shelter location at 962 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.  We have begun to wind down operations at the warehouse located at 2246 Glenwood Avenue.  It will close by December 31, 2015. 

 

Looking forward, we are requesting the community to limit in-kind donations to non-perishable food stuffs  and personal hygiene items¾ all of which can be dropped off at the Mission’s consolidated location, 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Youngstown.

 

The Mission is extremely grateful to our faithful donors for sustaining our operations for nearly 125 years.  We embrace the changes that must be made to satisfy the needs of our community and look forward to a continued partnership as we maximize the impact of your generous cash and in-kind donations.

 

Somethin's Happenin' Here...

So, if you know this opening line as the lyrics to a 1970's era protest song by Buffalo Springfield, then you are certainly dating yourself. But, something is happening here. The Mission has closed the books on fiscal year 2014-2015 and opened the page to fiscal year 2015-2016.  This is always a time to reflect upon how the ministry has grown or declined.

The good news is that business is good. The bad news is that business is good. When business is good at a homeless shelter that means that more people need the services that are offered. Increase in “customers” does not translate to an increase in income.  Unlike a business, income does not always keep pace with demand.

These charts show the sharp increase in overnight guests and meals served in the past several years. More people than ever are counting on the Mission to provide food and shelter. The increases seem to show no signs of letting up.

 

 

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, our income has remained steady. We are doing our due diligence to streamline our ministry and focus in on our purpose as stated in the sidebar on the right.





Shuttle to the Shelter

The Mission is offering to shuttle your group to the shelter for a 30 minute tour of the Rescue Mission. We will pick up your group from your workplace or any other central location and return you safely using our 15 passenger van.

Recently, a group of nurses, doctors and social workers from St. Elizabeth’s Ambulatory Clinic rode the shuttle for a tour. These individuals provide such valuable services for our clients and others in the community. Thanks for all you do and thanks for coming in.