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Washington City Mission assists area homeless

3 min read
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What began in 1941 as a soup kitchen has grown into a beautiful campus that offers food, shelter and clothing to the homeless and hopeless in Washington County.

“Hope is probably one of the biggest things that people are lacking. When they come here to the City Mission, hope becomes alive,” said Dean Gartland, president and CEO of the Washington City Mission. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. Life will absolutely be different for them when they leave here.”

The City Mission, located along West Wheeling Street in downtown Washington, offers shelter to men and women, women with children and veterans in need. Those who live on-campus receive food and clothing, medical attention (there’s an on-site doctor) and real-world skills training, such as how to balance a checkbook.

The Mission also helps residents get jobs and, eventually, the keys to their own home.

“There’s a lot of good things that happen as a result of the City Mission being present in the community,” said Gartland. “When you look at it even from an economic standpoint, homelessness does create drain on social services and on hospital systems. (The City Mission) reduces the amount of crime in our city, reunites families.”

The City Mission also feeds and clothes families who aren’t homeless but have fallen on hard times.

“We also serve that layer of the population that you would call the working poor,” said Dr. Sally Mounts, Chief Development Officer. “In Washington, about 20% of the population falls below the federal poverty guidelines. All they have to have is one mistake, one misstep, one bad decision and they are homeless.”

This holiday season, the City Mission is hoping to wrap a Christmas gift for every resident. Gifts can be donated through the Mission’s Angel Tree on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3OX6HHA1U01LU.

Clothing, furniture and shelf-stable food can be dropped off at the main campus at 84 West Wheeling Street or donated to a thrift store (find the nearest one online at https://www.citymission.org/stores).

Volunteers are needed for the Mission’s thrift stores and warehouse, and the City Mission is always accepting monetary donations online at https://www.citymission.org/.

Of course, the Christ-centered City Mission can always use a prayer.

“Having people pray for us is really a big deal,” said Gartland. “That means so much to us.”

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