Homeless shelter in Pekin could be moved
Armed with a newly-awarded $75,000 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Grant from the City of Pekin, the nonprofit organization Pekin Outreach Initiative (POI) is working to improve its services.
“This is a win-win for the city and for you,” Pekin Mayor Mary Burress told POI president Greg Ranney as she presented him with a grant check. “We cannot thank you enough for doing everything you can to help the city and help people in need.”
Ranney indicated that POI plans to use the grant money to rent a portion of a building at 243 Derby St. from the Salvation Army of Pekin and renovate it for use as a homeless shelter. When renovations are complete, the organization is planning to move its services from the current location at 515 Elizabeth St.
“It’s an area that hasn’t been used in the building at the Salvation Army for several years,” Ranney said. “So, it’s a good fit for what we do.”
The renovations will focus primarily on such Americans with Disabilities Act compliance measures as widening doorways, installing a wheelchair lift, and adding a bathroom with a wheelchair-accessible shower.
Ranney said the new location will allow POI to work closely with the Salvation Army’s Rust Transitional Center. Clients using POI’s shelter during the day will be able to then move to the Rust Transitional Center’s emergency shelter at night.
“Our operation will be at one end of the building, and the Transitional Center is at the other,” he added. “We hope people go over to the Transitional Center and get back on their feet. We have a 90 to 120-day program, depending on the situation; and they help homeless people get jobs and find apartments and cars and things like that, then follow up with them for a period of time.”
POI will continue to use the building at 515 Elizabeth St. as a storage facility and as a distribution center for food, clothes, toiletries and various household essentials, Ranney said.
Pekin Outreach Initiative networks with local churches and charitable organizations in an effort to feed the hungry, prevent homelessness, and assist the homeless in the Pekin area. More information is available at pekinoutreachinitiative.com.