‘Restoring lives’: City Mission presents impact review
Homelessness continues to be a growing problem, and Washington City Mission pledges to continue efforts to combat it and serve those in need.
The mission presented its “Restoring Lives” impact review Wednesday at its chapel on West Wheeling Street in Washington.
“There’s a tremendous need to serve the unsheltered in our community,” said Diana Irey Vaughan, President/CEO of City Mission. “Our goal is to help everybody who comes to the City Mission to move from a life of crisis to a thriving life of hope in Christ.”
In 2023, there was a 12% increase in the nation’s homeless population, marking a record high since homeless data was collected in 2007. The Wall Street Journal reports that 2024 is on track to break that record again.
Women and families are currently the fastest-growing homeless populations in the United States. City Mission is feeling that impact, receiving calls from homeless women every day.
The lack of beds to meet the demands of a growing waitlist prompted the construction of Sally’s Sanctuary, a 50-bed shelter for homeless women, which is scheduled to open in July 2025.
Trisha Schum, director of development, said the project carries an $8.4 million price tag, $7.8 million of which has already been raised. Additional grants are being sought.
“It’s heartbreaking the number of women who call every day that we have to turn away,” Irey Vaughan said. “With the opening of Sally’s Sanctuary, our annual community impact will grow.”
Leah Dietrich, director of residential programs, provided some statistics to support the mission’s impact from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30.
In that fiscal year, the mission served 1,453 unique individuals – the street homeless, sheltered homeless and working poor in the area.
The mission provided 84,912 meals, 47,288 nights of shelter, 14,319 medical clinic services and 9,390 grocery bags to residents and community. Additionally, 150 homeless individuals were transitioned into their own homes.
The Career Training and Education Center helped 129 individuals obtain jobs.
Also, City Mission’s holistic residential programs and services guided residents who stay in the program for at least 90 days to a 69% overall success rate. The average length of stay was 171 days.
“We’re continually looking for ways to improve our program and to have an even bigger impact in the community,” Dietrich said. “Our goal ultimately is independent living for each individual who walks through these doors. Oftentimes people think of shelters as a place when you’re cold you have a place to stay. That’s not what we’re about at City Mission. We’re about empowering the individual by supporting them and providing them with services and care. Giving them a place to feel loved and welcomed is critical to what we do.”
Testimony was offered Wednesday from two former residents of the City Mission and how the organization helped them.
Dave Green shared his story of arriving at the mission in November 2017 as a “broken individual” with health issues and addictions to drugs and alcohol. He said he’s been sober for seven years.
“It gave me a whole new lease on life,” Green said. “When I got here, I was fresh out of treatment. I knew with 20 years of addiction I needed something more long term to become stable. I knew I wanted to get my life back, I just didn’t know how to do it on my own. I came here and they loved me with open arms. When you’re in that dark lifestyle, there’s no love there. I forgot what it was like to feel loved and to love myself. It was a game changer for me.”
Green now works as the coordinator for the men’s residential program for the mission.
A former resident who appeared on video came to the mission with her son.
“Before coming to City Mission, I was filled with fear,” she said. “Since coming to the mission, I am filled with hope.”
When they moved out of City Mission, the woman had a job, and she and her son had their own home.
“It’s such a good reminder of why we do what we do every day,” Dietrich said. “There are days that we see great successes and there’s days where we have really hard days. So often I have former residents who go into helping professions and want to do more. It’s so rewarding to see that transformation.”
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