Board Grants $4,500 to Marion Shelter Program For Immediate Release May 22, 2003

Mark Lovett, Executive Director of the Marion Shelter Program, accepts a $4,500 check from Shari Marsh, Executive Director of the United Way of Union County. The United Way of Union County Board of Trustees awarded a $4,500 grant to the Marion Shelter Program yesterday to help address the needs of homeless people within our community. The grant strengthens the relationship between the shelter and Union County by providing money to care for county residents the shelter already serves. It also opens the possibilities for expanded services. With no homeless shelter in operation in Union County, the Marion Shelter Program has been a resource for the last 14 years. "It's going to be good for Union County, it's going to be good for our program, and we want to expand," said Mark Lovett, Executive Director of the Marion Shelter Program. "Right now, we are the referral source." The shelter, which serves about 25 to 30 people a day from counties contiguous to Marion County, is not a "flop-house." The difference between what the Marion Shelter Program and traditional homeless facilities provide is profound. Besides giving homeless people a place to stay and food to eat, the shelter provides a structured environment to learn social skills, job skills, and money management skills. A new Day Program at the shelter allows residents to access more than 12,000 educational lessons through computers and software that all but tests users for their Graduate Equivalence Degree. "They know from the minute they begin the intake process that we are different," Lovett said. "They are required to be sober. They are required to be clean. They are required to do chores. They are required to seek employment, and once employed, to maintain employment. They are also required to participate in our savings program, which aids in their long-term plan of independence and self-sufficiency." The Marion Shelter Program also operates the Journey House, an additional facility that serves as a transitional-housing program for former shelter residents who have found employment. United Way of Union County Board Members Michele Mercer and Betty Hoile visited the shelter and reviewed the grant request. "The Journey House really gives people a chance to be in a more real living situation," Mercer said. "They help them budget and pay out their bills and really get them going so that they can be back to what the rest of us would deem the normal lifestyle of renting, working, and living your life." The $4,500 from the United Way of Union County will support 2% of the shelter's budget this year. The Marion Shelter Program served four people from Union County in 2002. The United Way grant opens the door for more referrals from Union County and increases the opportunity for area homeless people to get back on their feet. "It is a pleasure to help fund a program that provides services to Union County residents in need of shelter," said Shari Marsh, Executive Director of the United Way of Union County. "We know that they're there, they're safe, they're housed, they're fed and they're clothed, and it makes us feel like we're doing our job," Lovett said. "Once the people move out, if they don't return, that's when we get the really positive feedback from people because they're doing well in their own independent living." For more information, please contact the United Way of Union County, at 937-644-8381.