“A hand up, not a hand out,” is how Brooks Chapel Ministries, Pastor Jessie Webb described the house, turned homeless shelter, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Fulton.
The house was donated to the church by an individual from Paris, Tenn., nearly one year ago, and has already provided shelter for several families in the area.
“The Rehoboth House is community funded. I want our community to learn how to take care of each other. The government can give a hand out, but we want to give a hand up,” Webb said. Melissa Simmons, and her two young boys are the most recent occupants of the shelter. They have been at the shelter for about a month.
“The Rehoboth House gave a single mother of two boys a safe place to stay. We ended up here after I became disabled to severe depression, black out spells, and panic attacks, making it difficult for me to deal with people, especially large groups,” Simmons said.
Although the Rehoboth House provided her and her children a safe place to stay for a short time, Simmons said she is still worried about the future once she leaves the shelter. Several businesses have donated to the shelter, enabling the church to cover utility expenses, when tenants are staying.
Names of individuals are put on a waiting list, and will be contacted for an interview to determine a need. They must also verify they have no residence, and no income possibility to sustain a residence.
According to Jo Bradley, overseer of the shelter, occupants are allowed up to 21 days in the shelter. During that time they must actively work to find a solution, and are encouraged to perform volunteer work.
For more information contact Brooks Chapel Ministries at 270-472-0585, to determine qualification.
