EDITORIAL City Mission rises from the ashes with new Patriot House
The Observer-Reporter building in Washington
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington County Commission Chairman Larry Maggi, right, presents S.B. Crowley of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 764 of McMurray with a flag during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Patriot House in Washington.
A little more than three years ago, a devastating fire nearly crippled the City Mission in Washington.
The June 9, 2015, fire in the homeless shelter’s main building at 84 W. Wheeling St. destroyed the kitchen and a dining room. Three men’s dormitories, a medical clinic and attic also sustained damage, displacing 58 men and many others who used the laundry facilities, classroom and recreation space.
The fire couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Five months earlier, the organization received approval from Washington City Council to demolish two buildings and construct a new shelter to house as many as 22 homeless veterans as it prepared to transform and update its campus. The 12,000-square-foot building on West Strawberry Avenue was to include a clinic and recreation space on the first floor, and bedrooms and living areas on the second and third stories.
The fire could have set the City Mission back years.
Instead, the organization persevered and has come back like a phoenix rising from the proverbial ashes.
July has been a celebration of sorts for the City Mission.
Earlier this month, the organization held a grand opening for its Patriot House for those homeless veterans who need specialized care while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other side effects from war. It’s an important living option for veterans, who are relying on the City Mission’s services more and more every year since the organization began tracking the numbers a decade ago.
“So veterans living together, healing together, working together, all of that seems to be the most effective program,” City Mission spokesman Gary Porter said during that grand opening celebration.
On Friday, current residents at the shelter and others who used to live there will gather with their families for a reunion picnic.
“The Patriot House is out of this world,” said Steven Adams, who serves as a manager of veteran services at the mission. “There’s a lot of help to be had here.”
He would know. Adams came to the mission 22 years ago when he was homeless and dealing with PTSD after serving in Desert Storm. Adams eventually found his way and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
“I feel like we’re all in this together,” Adams said. “And isn’t that what family is?”
Now, the City Mission family will be able to help many other veterans in need.
The City Mission in Washington has made a big comeback since that devastating fire three years ago. It’s a fitting story for an organization whose mission it is to help others make a comeback of their own.