City Welfare Mission shelter to open soon after renovations

The City Welfare Mission’s homeless shelter is finishing up renovations and is looking for a few donations to help get it ready to open.

The goal was to have the shelter open on Friday.

“I was hoping to, but it doesn’t look like it will right now,” said pastor and director Jeff Cremeans. “We are trying to get everything together and get it open. We have to get the beds in and few other items.”

He said he doesn’t have an exact opening date yet.

The shelter closed on Aug. 1 so renovations could be done. The last time it was updated was in either 1999 or 2000.

“We put in new flooring, painted everything. We replaced beds,” he said. “We spruced it up. We are going to get the beds in, we just need some sheets.”

A recent Facebook posting has gone viral with a call for twin-sized sheets, blankets and pillows for 15 new beds the shelter purchased.

“It seems like the community wants to help on that,” Cremeans said. “We’ve had three or four calls about it. What ever anyone wants to do, we’d be glad to talk about it.”

He said they don’t mind if the items are gently used.

“Since everything is new, we would like new,” he said. “But gently used would be great.”

And the shelter is always in need of donations of personal care items like soap, shaving cream, shampoo, washcloths, towels, paper towels and razors.

The shelter has room for 22 people a night and provides about 3,000 nights of lodging every year.

The shelter is located at 701 N. Fifth St. Cremeans isn’t sure how old the building is. It had been the Cabana Club, but after voters made that precinct dry, the owners decided to sell the building. The mission bought it in the 1980s.

To contact Cremeans about donations, call 740-532-5041.