Editorial: Kingsport Homeless Ministry needs your support

The wrong way to help the homeless is to provide them food and shelter. It gives them another day of survival on the streets but doesn't solve the problem. Rather, it perpetuates it.The right way to help the homeless is the approach being taken by the Kingsport Homeless Ministry. Its objective is to get the homeless off the streets and back into society, and if you want to join the hundreds of volunteers who have assisted the ministry in that effort, your help is needed now more than ever.With it, Grace House may open at 700 E. Sullivan St. by its target date of Nov. 15.It is a 40-bed night shelter and day services center that has been under renovation for two years with the help of many volunteers who have contributed cash and the sweat of their brows. More than 10,000 volunteer hours have been invested in the project, along with $270,000 in improvements.The ministry was founded in 2017 by close friends Betsy Preston and Jo Morrison. It was chartered in 2018 and brought together a group of area churches to discuss and analyze the homeless issues in Kingsport.Morrison and Preston recognized the many Kingsport-area organizations that already provided for the homeless, and resolved to patch up the holes in some of their services.As a result, programs for mental health assistance and substance abuse treatment, along with a strong foundation in faith, became some of the Kingsport Homeless Ministry's strongest assets.The ministry secured the building at 700 E. Sullivan St. in June 2021 and has since been renovating and furnishing it.The homeless shelter will have space for 40 beds upstairs — half for men and half for women.The first floor of Grace House will continue to operate as a day center linking clients to medical, mental health, job skills and housing resources.Plans also include a drug and alcohol counseling service on location.As it nears completion, the Kingsport Homeless Ministry board of directors is asking for additional financial and volunteer support."We recognize this is a very ambitious goal, but with seasons changing and colder temperatures approaching, the need for Grace House couldn't be greater," KHM Board President Bobby Flowers said. "In order to meet our target and be fully operational, we need continued financial and volunteer support from the community."To date, all funds utilized for the purchase and renovation of the more than 13,000-square-foot building have been raised through private donations."It's been a very long, challenging project, but we know a facility like Grace House is desperately needed in Kingsport," said Flowers."We thank each and every one of our past donors and volunteers, and we invite the community to rally behind us again for this final push to open."Although Grace House has been under renovations, there have been more than 950 case management interactions with homeless individuals at Grace House since January.Once fully operational, it will offer expanded day center services, including mental health counseling, employment training and financial literacy.To donate or volunteer to help Grace House meet its target opening date of Nov. 15, visit https://www.kpthm.org.The Kingsport Homeless Ministry's objective is to get the homeless off the streets and back into society, and if you want to join the hundreds of volunteers who have assisted the ministry in that effort, your help is needed now more than ever.