PARKERSBURG - A dinner will be held tonight to raise money and let people see the work being done to the new Latrobe Street Mission.
The Not For Sale Ministries will be holding the Homeless Empty Plate Fundraising and Benefit Dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Lynn Street Church of Christ. The dinner is to raise funds and to give tours of the new mission at the old Storck Baking Co. at 19th and Latrobe streets.
The board of the NFS Ministries Inc is planning to open an overnight shelter in the location, said Shad Martin, board president. The plan is to offer immediate emergency services and develop a 12-18-month discipleship program for long-term residents.
"We want to get people excited about what we are doing," Martin said.
Work has been going on in the 15,000-square-foot space, which is expected to be able to house 90 people in transitional housing. The shelter is expected to open in October.
"We want to bring people together and get these people out of the situation they are in," Martin said.
Organizers have stressed the shelter will be a place where people can get a "hand up" and not a "hand out" in there will be case management for those who come to them.
Work is being done to eventually provide housing for veterans and is working toward creating a domestic violence shelter.
The dinner tonight will consist of chicken, potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls, drink and dessert. Organizers are asking for a $25 donation.
Speakers will include a man who was helped by a similar program who was previously homeless and now has a job and an apartment. Another speaker is Chris Mullett, the executive director of the Clarksburg Mission.
Martin said they have already raised $34,000 and continue to seek other funding through donations, grants and more. It is estimated the shelter will need an annual operating budget of $160,000 a year.
