Shelter to have Food Pantry, new entrance when it reopens

Monday, February 17, 2014

The new Beyond Homeless executive director wants the revived Greencastle shelter to be more than just comforting to those in need.

"We don't want to be just a feather bed, we want to be a springboard," Tanis Monday told an open house gathering at the 309 E. Franklin St. shelter Thursday night.

On the job less than a month, Monday says she has "been overwhelmed by the support of people who want to be involved" in the revitalization of the homeless shelter formerly known as A-Way Home.

Explaining the interior set-up of the Beyond Homeless Inc. shelter building at 309 E. Franklin St., Greencastle, board member Bob Sedlack (center) leads one tour of the facility while fellow board member Bill Wieland (background) conducts another, showing other visitors the planned new shelter entrance on the west side of the building. Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE

Plans are for the shelter to reopen by the end of March, serving single women and women with children, she said.

Beyond Homeless Inc. will be committed to finding short-term, offsite housing for men who find themselves homeless, potentially connecting such individuals with other community resources.

Community support for the project "has been fabulous," Beyond Homeless board member Bob Jedele said, noting however that continued support will be vital to the shelter's sustainability.

"We will need the community's ongoing financial support," Jedele said. "While fundraising efforts have been very positive, we are still $50,000 short of our first year's budget and will need $120,000 per year going forward to sustain the shelter."

Jedele and fellow board member Matt Mascioli purchased the former A-Way Home site with the intent of it being revitalized as a "Community Hub."

Mascioli said their goal is to make the building a hub for programs of similar service. Besides Beyond Homeless Inc. and the offices of the Greencastle Housing Authority, the building will soon also house the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry.

Judy Miller, executive director of the Food Pantry, said the current facility will close March 3 to facilitate the move from its present location along Tennessee Street into its new quarters at the shelter. Plans are to open in the new location on March 10.

The Food Pantry will occupy the front section of the building and three rooms down the hallway on the west side. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays to start, Miller said.

"We know the need for food in this county is great," she said, explaining that 70,000 meals were sent out last year. "And we're on track to break that record I think."

Bill Wieland, one of the so-called "Gang of Four" -- Wieland, Bob Sedlack, John Dittmer and Walker Gilmer -- who have spearheaded the need for a new shelter since A-Way Home closed in September 2011, welcomed a large crowd to the open house.

Calling it an "amazing turnout," Wieland said the board was "just delighted" with the public interest and support as Beyond Homeless Inc. works toward nurturing "homeless prevention," rather than just being a shelter.

Wieland noted that the main entrance now will be on the west side of the building, necessitating installation of a new glass door and putting in a window in the north wall of the hallway.

The BHI reception area and office will be on the other side of that wall, and the fenced-in playground on the west side will be reconfigured so there will be a walkway to the entrance from the parking lot.

"The board decided that this would be best place to have the entrance after conversations with neighbors to the east," Wieland said.

However, the board also believes "it may well be the best arrangement because the large common room off the kitchen area will not have to be reconfigured to include a reception area."

All three service organizations will have separate entrances to the building, Wielandnoted.

The Putnam County Food Pantry will have a new entrance on the south side of the building (still to be constructed) separate from the existing Greencastle Housing Authority entrance at the front left corner.

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