Here’s how this new Tri-Cities building will help save lives
At the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission, there’s a stark difference between “over there” and “here.”
“Over there” is the old men’s shelter on North Second Avenue in downtown Pasco.
It’s aging and cramped, with not nearly enough beds or privacy.
But “here” is the new men’s facility, a short distance away on South Fourth Avenue.
It’s spacious and spotless. Its ribbon cutting was last month, with the move-in last week..
And it’s already making a difference.
“I’ve talked to a few of the guys, and (the new facility) makes them feel hopeful,” said Andrew Porter, mission executive director.
“Over there, it’s old, it’s worn down, it’s very crowded,” he said. “(But ‘here’) brings a whole new emotion and feeling to a lot of the guys. A couple of them told me it’s inspired them to want to get their lives turned around,” Porter said.
The new facility was a long time coming — the culmination of years of planning and fundraising.
Community donations covered most of the $11.5 million project price tag, along with about $3 million in grants.
The new facility is nearly 40,000 square feet, with more than 160 beds.
Of those, 112 are “rescue” beds, or traditional emergency shelter beds. They’re in four dormitories with 28 beds each.
The rest are in five-, two- and one-man rooms, for those working through the mission’s case management and recovery programs.
The old men’s shelter had 55 beds, with men sleeping on the floor when those filled up. There also was little office space and room for the case management work.
But the new facility has plenty of room for that, plus a computer lab and classrooms.
The new commercial kitchen is spacious, and the dining room is large, bright and open.
It was set up for 100 people the other day, decked out for Christmas.
The chapel is set up for 200, with space to grow. In fact, the entire facility was built to accommodate future growth, Porter said.
The bathrooms also are making a big difference. The old shelter had four toilets, four shower heads and little privacy, and the new building has a large bathroom with about 20 private showers and private bathroom stalls.
That’s so important, said Michael Conger and Jack Cook, who are part of the mission’s recovery program.
“The way that they’ve designed the restrooms and the showers makes you feel like you’re not at a homeless shelter,” Conger said.
“(It makes you feel) that you’re at home,” Cook said.
Conger nodded. “You have a home.”
That’s the way the whole facility makes them feel — from the kitchen to the sleeping space, he said.
They’re grateful to the staff and to the community for its support of the mission.
“I can speak for many of the people here, that the help that we are given from the public through the (mission) helps us get back on our feet, gives us a chance to get back out in society,” Conger said.
The Tri-City Union Gospel Mission dates to the mid-1950s. The old men’s shelter used to be a Masonic temple.; mission leaders bought it in 1958 for $25,000 to help the community’s homeless.
By the time it became part of the mission, the building already had been standing for decades.
The mission’s women and children’s shelter is next to the old men’s facility. While greater demand meant the men’s shelter needed replacing first, leaders hope to build a new women and children’s facility in Kennewick in the future.
For now, they’re celebrating the new building.
“The guys feel really good about it. It’s so nice, and they’re not used to having things like this,” Porter said.
With the new facility, “I think the sky’s the limit,” he said.
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