Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 1, 1991 TAG: 9102280226
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND/ NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The two-story home at 710 Roanoke St. - which at one time housed female boarders - will be the first permanent shelter in the county for homeless, replacing a trailer in Blacksburg that was too small to make an impact on the situation.
Montgomery County Community Shelter, a non-profit corporation that serves the homeless, owns the new homeless shelter, which will be dedicated March 9.
"It's really exciting," said Greg Boardman, board president. "We've waited a long time to be able to help more people, and it's finally becoming a reality."
Montgomery County Community Shelter bought the house, which is more than 50 years old, in 1989 for approximately $41,000, and immediately started fund raising and applying for grants and loans.
The second mortgage was paid off last summer, and the group will receive about $16,000 for energy-related improvements from a Virginia Housing Partnership Fund. Other grants are being studied.
The renovations have cost $25,000 to $35,000, said Kathy Parrott, the board's vice president. The home was gutted in September, a new roof was put on and volunteers - under the supervision of Dave Cunningham of Cunningham Contracting in Christiansburg - have worked all winter to get the house ready.
"Money has come from various sources over the past few years," said Parrott. "A lot has been donations either of money, materials, supplies or labor. We've really had a strong network of support for this shelter."
The house has three apartments, each with a combination kitchen and living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
The apartments will serve as transitional housing for families, who may stay for up to three months. New River Community Action will screen the applicants and provide intake services.
"Our focus is on families so that by getting temporary, decent housing, they can get back on track," Parrott said.
From November 1987 through April 1989, more than 1,200 families and individuals in Montgomery County requested shelter, according to New River Community Action statistics. Of that number, almost 400 were children ranging in age from 5 months to 18 years.
The various reasons for homelessness - emergency or crisis, eviction, unemployment and illness - made the shelter group decide to build transitional housing, which could help a family progress to self-sufficiency.
Volunteer coordinator and board member Diane Clarkson has been working on the house steadily every weekend with students from Virginia Tech's Habitat for Humanity chapter and Students Against Poverty.
Other groups, including the Junior Women's League, have offered to paint, and dozens of area businesses have donated goods or offered them at reduced prices.
And the town of Christiansburg even hauled off the garbage.
"It seems like a long time coming," Clarkson said at the project site recently. "I haven't had a Saturday off since August, but it's been worth it. This is something the community needs and I'm really proud to be a part of it."
Del. Joan Munford, D-Blacksburg, is the honorary chairwoman and will speak at the dedication in March, at which time board members and volunteers will "cheer and pray over the house," said Parrott.
"We all agree that the house has always been a haven for needy people," said Boardman. "I hope it can always be that way."
To donate money or time, call Montgomery County Community Shelter at 382-6186 or write to P.O. Box 2308, Christiansburg, Va. 24068.
by CNB