Homeless shelter is safe haven

MOUNT VERNON — With the dedication of over 100 volunteers from churches around Knox County and many students from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Kenyon College, the Winter Sanctuary Homeless Shelter has become a safe haven for homeless men.

Now in its second year, the shelter is located at the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Parish House, and offers a dwelling place for individuals to sleep during the night and have meals.

“The shelter has done fairly well this year,” said Sally Parson, planning committee member and volunteer. “And it has been through a lot of changes. We’ve got a new restroom facility on the same floor as the shelter in the parish house, and we didn’t have a shower facility in the building. Through a donation through Harcourt Parish, we were able to put in a bathroom, complete with a shower facility and such.”

Kenyon College donated beds, Connell’s Home Furnishings donated mattresses and new pillows, and countless donations have come in from organizations and community members around the county. Through these donations, men seeking sanctuary have been able to experience a small piece of home.

“It has been fantastic, the amount of support we have gotten from the community,” said Parson.

Not only have donations of monetary funds been given, but food, clothing and the time to serve people in need have also been contributed.

“One example is every Saturday night, Neff’s donates all the doughnuts they have left, and the same thing on Sunday night,” she said, adding that for the patrons of the shelter, this has been a tasteful sweet to their breakfast meal.

Doctors such as Dr. John R. Fowler D.D.S. have aided with providing urgent dental care, tooth brushes and toothpaste for the men.

Since the previous year, Parson said, the shelter has seen changes in the demographics of men using the facility.

Parson explained that last year, many of the patrons were from the community, and did a lot of “couch surfing” prior to coming to the shelter. When they came, they would stay for longer periods. This year, however, many have been transient guests, staying only for a couple of days, with maybe a few staying a week at a time.

“But the interesting thing is, a lot of the ones we’ve had have medical problems,” said Parson.

One individual, she explained, had diabetes and his sugar level was high. However, with aid from Knox Community Hospital and the Knox County Health Department, he was able to get the help he needed.

Parson said many of those who were served in the shelter have been successful in finding work, or moving to another area where there might be jobs available.

“We did have one man who worked here in Mount Vernon, but lived out of the county,” said Parson. “He worked here during the week and went home on the weekends. Actually, he had been sleeping in his truck in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, and the police recommended that he come to the shelter. He managed to save up a enough money that he was able to bring his family here. At first they rented a place, but now they were able to buy a home and are now permanent residents of Knox County. That’s a true success story,” she said.

There have been other success stories that have encouraged volunteers to continue to carry out the shelter’s goal.

“The stereotype of the homeless is that they’re looking for a handout, but these guys are definitely not. They are trying to get jobs and some of them do get called back by their employers,” said Parson. “And I can see they are very appreciative of what we do.”

The shelter is a seasonal facility for men only. It usually opens in November and closes in April.

“This was just intended as an overnight place to help get people off the streets, but I don’t think we anticipated at first that we would have the long-term stays that we have had,” said Parson.

The homeless shelter is a dry shelter, and does not accept anyone who is inebriated with drink or drug.

Parson said she is very thankful the shelter hasn’t had any problems with the patrons they’ve helped.

“We have rules and regulations, and we really haven’t had any problems with anybody abiding by them. They have all been very cooperative,” she said.