Mignon Kennedy, Director of Gabriel's Horn short-term shelter for homeless women and their children, spoke to the Portage Exchange Club at the January 16 breakfast meeting at Miller's Assisted Living. She discussed statistics and changes in the homeless population, as well as changes in the facility itself.
Although it is difficult to get an exact count on the number of homeless people, experts estimate that homelessness affects approximately four million people in the United States. About one million of these are children. Kennedy said there has been an increase in the number of single women joining the ranks of the homeless, partly because their disability payments tend to be lower than men's since many women did not work during child-raising years or worked at lower paying jobs. They are looking for ways to help women find each other to share some financial burdens and remain in their present homes.
Gabriel's Horn is a transition shelter. The length of an average stay is about four months, during which time the shelter tries to help their clients obtain education, secure housing and employment. Some of the services they provide include case management, counseling, child care, links to the community and classes in parenting, nutrition, yoga and art. The art classes are offered to both the women and their children and serves as a stress reliever, as well as a creative outlet.
Grant money provides opportunities for an after-care program, in which the shelter can follow up with clients who have moved out of the shelter.
Two of the biggest changes in the facility have been the addition of a professional grade playground set and the installation of a computer room.
"This was really a case of 'God moving in mysterious ways' and of 'being in the right place at the right time,'" Kennedy said of the playground set. The $12,000 set was being auctioned by IUN, which had dropped its childcare program. Kennedy found out about the auction, bid on the set and won the auction for $700. Community leader and Gabriel's Horn board member Vern Cunningham arranged for the set to be dismantled, moved and installed, including with it the rubber mulch for safety.
The computer room was previously a toy room that was hard to keep clean and organized. The Portage High School MCJ ROTC tore out the old shelving, members of the Kiwanis club painted the room and grants provided new carpeting and computers to turn it into a learning center for the residents.
Portage Exchange Club President Peggy Berbesque presented Kennedy with a check for $500 to continue the work of Gabriel's Horn. Berbesque commented how impressed she was that the organization is not only providing hope for the residents for today but looking to their futures as well.
Kennedy thanked the club for its donation and said, "I'm always overwhelmed by how much support we get from the community. Portage cares about all its residents."