House of Hope continues to rally support

Now that Danville’s homeless shelter, under the new name House of Hope, is open again, the community leaders who spearheaded its revival are looking for both short- and long-term answers to the problem of homelessness in the region.

At a public meeting of the Homeless Ministry Coalition on Thursday night, about 100 area business, community and church leaders, as well as interested residents, met at First Baptist Church on Main Street to get an update on progress being made at the shelter.

House of Hope Director Stephen Anderson said he was pleased with the turnout at the meeting.

“It was awesome,” Anderson said. “The city has really opened its arms to us. We’ve had a great response from the people in Danville.”

Anderson said the shelter on Claiborne Street can house 16 people and normally helps about 10 or 11 men every night.

“We also have a secure area for women and children, with a lock on the door and a place for children to play,” he said.

Anderson said support from local churches has been impressive, with some pledging monthly support and challenging other churches to do the same.

The Rev. Donnie Anderson, pastor of the Riveroak Church of God and a member of the Homeless Ministry Coalition’s steering committee, said one of the high points of the meeting was when a formerly homeless man talked about his experience at the shelter.

“He said he wanted to share that he had stayed in the shelter a few weeks ago and that (Stephen Anderson) treated him and the others with dignity and respect, when he had no place else to go,” the pastor said.

Donnie Anderson said the building actually has room to set up enough beds for 30 to 40 people, but that would require some structural changes, such as the addition of more bathrooms and, possibly, a sprinkler system.

A board of directors is being formed for the shelter, and one of their first orders of business will be to discuss how they might fund such an expansion, he said.

“But the truth is, if the heart of Danville continues to express itself the way it has, that won’t be a problem,” Donnie Anderson said.

The Rev. Stephen Cook, pastor of First Baptist Church and a steering committee member, said there are many ways people can help House of Hope be a success.

Some of its needs include various cleaning supplies and people who are willing to use them.

“We hope groups might adopt a room — patch it up, paint it and clean it day-to-day,” Cook said.

Cook said he also would like to see a shelter that offers long-term help for people who need a place to stay for several weeks, such as mentoring and teaching job skills that would get people on their feet and into permanent housing.

The latest Danville homelessness figures are not yet tallied, but Cook said a 2008 census reported about 150 homeless people in the city.

People can sign up at the shelter’s Web site, www.danvillehmc.com, for volunteer duties or to get information on how to make donations of food, supplies or money. Director Stephen Anderson can be reached at (434) 549-1459.