May 9, 2024 By Karen Mansfield 3 min read

Courtesy of City Mission

Groundbreaking for a new City Mission women’s shelter will be held in late May.

City Mission in Washington will break ground later this month on its new 50-bed shelter for homeless women, a facility that will help address the rising number of women experiencing homelessness.

The Mission is forced to turn away an average of almost 60 women each month due to limited capacity, according to Dr. Sally Mounts, City Mission’s Chief Development Officer.

“We have to turn away women each day, and this shelter will mean being able to say yes – less referrals and more opportunities to serve,” said Leah Dietrich, City Mission’s Director of Residential Programs. “This new space will be a beacon of hope and a place of healing and restoration. Lives will be changed, and the women will have a chance to start again.”

The $7.1 million facility will be constructed on the City Mission campus on West Wheeling Street in Washington. Construction is slated to begin in late May and is expected to be completed in a little over a year. It will house child care space, a family sleeping unit, individual sleeping units, and common areas, including a living room.

“It’s going to be a state-of-the-art facility,” said Diana Irey Vaughan, President and CEO of City Mission. “I’m very grateful for the individuals who have opened their hearts to provide the necessary funding to care for homeless women in need.”

City Mission has raised $6.1 million for the project from donations from foundations, churches, personal and corporate contributions, along with funding from the Local Share Account – proceeds from gaming revenue – which was awarded in March.

City MIssion President Emeritus Dean Gartland said the construction of the new women’s shelter is “a long-awaited dream come true for the Mission.”

“Back in 2012, we decided to embark on a journey to improve our facilities, expand our services, and build two new shelters: a shelter for homeless veterans and one for homeless single women. Over the past 12 years, we have witnessed most of this vision being fulfilled. The remaining part of this vision is the new shelter for single women, and to see this now coming into view creates such a great sense of accomplishment,” said Gartland.

Roughly $1 million is still needed for the shelter. Naming rights to sections of the building are still available as part of a community-centered campaign.

For more information, visit www.citymission.org/hope or contact Mounts at smounts@citymission.org or 724-705-7122.