City Mission’s Sally’s House set to open next month
By Mark Hofmann/mhofmann@heraldstandard.com
City Mission’s Chief Development Officer Dr. Sally Mounts gives a tour of one of the bedrooms in the organization’s next-step house, Sally’s House, located across the street from City Mission in Washington.
City Mission’s Chief Development Officer Dr. Sally Mounts reads a quote on the wall in one of the rooms at Sally’s House, which is City’s Mission’s next-step house for homeless women on their way to independence.
Mark Hofmann/ For the Observer-Reporter
Mark Hofmann/For the Observer-Reporter
Dr. Sally Mounts, the chief development officer for City Mission in Washington, shows off the salon at Sally’s House during an open-house tour on Saturday. The house is City Mission’s next-step house for homeless women on their way to independence.
City Mission has revealed their new next-step house for homeless women on their way to achieving independence with Sally’s House.
Located across the street from City’s Mission campus, Sally’s House resulted from an anonymous donor, his wife and his friends to refurbish a Victorian-style home. The building now housing Sally’s House was formerly a bail bondsman’s office, a law office and a residential house and has been transformed into a 15-bed home for women who have graduated from City Mission’s goal from homelessness to independent living.
“This is the interim step before they move out on their own,” said City Mission’s Chief Development Officer, Dr. Sally Mounts, after whom the donor named the house.
Mounts said the donor spent seven months refurbishing the home. City Mission obtained a grant from Concordia Lutheran Angel Tear Ministries to purchase furniture. Finally, volunteers and residents with City Mission put the furniture together and decorated the home.
“We are really looking forward to the women in our program moving onto this as the next step in their lives,” Mounts said, adding they’re planning for the home to open sometime in July with 15 women currently waiting to move in.
She added that the house contains bedrooms, bathrooms, storage rooms, sitting rooms, a common room, an office, an RA room and even a salon.
It’s a place for them to stay as long as they want or need as they try out a job or two, have their schedules worked out and get whatever services they need while in a safe environment.
This new facility will expand the organization’s total capacity to house homeless women to 41 beds.
“We so need more beds for women,” Mounts said, adding they plan to launch a capital campaign in January to demolish the building that’s currently their 14-bed women’s shelter and build a 50-bed women’s shelter.
Until then, they’re looking forward to Sally’s House making a difference with one of the important steps to independence. City Mission celebrated on Saturday with an open house where visitors could tour, enjoy refreshments, and contribute by purchasing items from a donation tree for necessary materials.
Long-term volunteers of City Mission, Jonna Murphy and Regina Schohn, both of Washington, took part in the open-house tour and were excited by what they saw.
“This is a perfect next step for independence,” Murphy said, adding she was pleased to see the house’s original style was still in place as the house is well over 100 years old.
“They did a great job all the way,” said Schohn.
Mounts said the graciousness of those in Washington County has really kept them going with their mission over the years.
“We’ve been around for 81 years, and the people of this area are enormously generous to their homeless neighbors, and that has allowed us to keep our doors open as long as we have,” Mounts said.
For more information on City Mission and its programs or to donate to the organization, visit citymission.org