Crossroads Mission helping the homeless in many ways
They come – men, women, children -- homeless, hungry and in need of hope. “There’s so much need,” said Barbara Rochester, community affairs director for Crossroads Mission. “These people have nowhere else to go. We need to take care of them.”
To do that, though, the mission needs the community’s assistance to help it provide a warm bed, hot food and compassion to these homeless individuals and families.
It’s a daunting task 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a need that continues to increase.
“We never close,” Rochester said. And, she pledged, “no one is turned away. If the beds are full, we put down mats and blankets on the floor.”
That means a lot of laundry — over 50 loads a day. So donations of laundry soap would be welcome to keep those washers running. Or someone coordinating a laundry detergent drive would be awesome.
People who come into the mission get daily showers and can get clean clothing as needed at the mission’s thrift store. To provide these services, donations of soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other toiletries are needed.
Meanwhile, donations to the thrift store keep its shelves and racks supplied with items for the homeless as well as for sale to the general public to generate financial support for the mission.
“We serve approximately 450 hot meals every day … over 140,000 meals a year,” Rochester continued. “That takes a lot of groceries.”
The mission gets some food from the Yuma Community Food Bank. In addition, food is donated by individuals and organizations, churches, food drives and businesses. Just a few examples … • One organization comes in every month and cooks hamburgers. “They bring in the food, prep it and get it ready to serve,” Rochester said. Members of St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church come in and make 500 sandwiches two times a month. Individuals bring in turkeys for Thanksgiving. Canned goods are collected during Christmas events.
• Kentucky Fried Chicken donates its unsold cooked chicken, enough to provide three full lunches a week. Various doughnut shops provide enough doughnuts each morning that the mission shares them with other agencies. Local grocery stores and restaurants donate their unsold food on a daily basis.
During the 3 Days of Thanksgiving, the mission served nearly 5,000 meals between those who came to the mission and meals delivered to the homebound.
Rochester expects the numbers to be at least as high for the upcoming 3 Days of Christmas. While all food donations are put to good use in the kitchen, she said the mission especially needs donations of desserts — that’s something they always seem to run short of for the holiday meals.
It also takes a lot of volunteers to help prepare and serve those meals. “We need volunteers for everything,” she said. “Just show up and we’ll get you a job.”
While the men’s shelter is overflowing to mats on the floor in the dining room, the family shelter also is bursting at the seams, Rochester said. At any given time there are 30 to 50 women in the shelter and as many children. “So we need shampoo and women’s personal hygiene items.”
Not to mention toys and other items for the children.
If anyone wants to adopt a family, they can call Rochester at 928-580-4482.
One thing worrying Rochester is the $3,000 bill to repair the mission’s four convection ovens that all went down while preparing the roast beef dinner for the three days of Thanksgiving. Fortunately, the mission still had two regular ovens.
“We have to get it done,” she said of the unexpected repair. “We’ve ordered the parts. We just need $3,000.”
While it’s a juggling act to meet the ongoing and emergency needs of the shelter, Rochester is grateful to the community for its seasonal and ongoing support that enables it to provide for the homeless.
That goes for the canned goods and toys collected during a recent car show, the toy drive taking place at the 16th Street Applebee’s Restaurant and the various coat and blanket drives undertaken in the community. Among them was a coat and blanket drive organized by Benjamin Claridge as his Eagle Scout project, the annual Rural Metro coat drive and the coat donation box at Burlington Coat Factory. Others undertake sock drives, water drives and meat drives.
That’s just to name a few of the generous acts by community members, organizations and businesses that help the mission meet the needs of the homeless all year round from the cold of winter to the heat of summer.
Rochester noted that the homeless shelter is funded entirely by donations, fundraisers and money it raises through its Second Chance Thrift Store at 550 W. 8th St. and the farmers’ markets it operates on Main Street and at Yuma Palms Regional Center in the winter months. There, people can purchase local produce, baked goods, homemade crafts and other items.
The mission does receive some government and managed care funding for
its substance abuse and rehabilitation services.
The next big event, Rochester said, will be the dinner and country music concert to be held Feb. 9 at Britain’s Farm.
Finally, as 2018 draws to a close, she encourages people to consider taking advantage of the Arizona state tax credit for donations to charitable organizations such as Crossroads Mission. Taxpayers can receive a tax credit on their Arizona state taxes of up to $800 for married couples filing jointly and $400 for individuals.
Donations can be dropped off at the mission, 944 S. Arizona Ave.
For more information about making donations or to volunteer, contact Rochester at 928-580-4482.