Spend enough time on social media and you’ll find plenty of folks talking the talk. Look around at what’s happening and you might find a disconnect in walking the walk. A local church in Carmi is stepping up to “be about it” however and Saturday held a banquet to promote its newest outreach “The Refuge”.
Read more at Dancz and Trinity Assembly of God Stepping Up to Provide Refuge for Homeless in Carmi – WRUL-FM
Lead pastor at Trinity Assembly of God, Robert Dancz calls it a Christ-centered mission dedicated to providing shelter, hope, and support for individuals experiencing homeless in the community. Dancz spoke to about 40 individuals who showed up for the event before a meal and sitting down for a one on one.
It’s just awesome to see what God is doing as soon as we obeyed. I’ve got to thank our church body because they embraced it right from the beginning when God put this on our hearts to have a place. If you know Carmi, it’s the one need that’s not really met. We’ve got awesome food pantries, we’ve got clothing, but the one thing we noticed over the past 4 ½ years since Mindy and I have been here, we’ve housed people at the parsonage, we’ve let people pitch tents in the backyard here and it’s like ok, we’ve got all this room, let’s do this. And the church embraced it. At the first of this year, we prayed and we were like we know God wants us to do something different. I just have to thank them for trusting that I hear from God and that we hear from God and we’re moving forward and I just really appreciate that.
Dancz says he and his wife have housed at one time or another over the last 4 ½ years four different women and it’s made a positive difference for them. There are six rooms at The Refuge and three are currently filled. From idea to fruition, questions had to be raised and answered. Dancz says they needed to get clearance from the mayor and important perspective from the city attorney. Following that, it came time to set policies and procedures and that paved the way for some important information.
I actually learned of a new term I wasn’t familiar with which is a low barrier shelter. And if you look at what that is, it removes a lot of barriers for people to be able to come into a shelter. And one of the deciding factors in keeping people from going back to where they came from which can include a lot of bad and having a positive impact on them, it’s having a place to stay for a certain amount of time. A lot of shelters, they have a different program where you can get into it for 30 or 90 days but you have to jump through hoops. So a lot of shelters, you just get a bed for one night in crowded places and big cities…you don’t’ know if you’re going to have a bed the next night. But with what we’re doing here, they’re going month to month and all our guys are working and working at saving money to get out.
He says the church does do background checks but they take each need on a case by case basis. The program is intended to be a leg up, not a handout, and requires participants to meet certain criteria that indicate they’re making good decisions and working toward a better future. Dancz says the goal immediately is to meet the need, but down the road to grow with a new dedicated building and a separate 501(c)(3) still under the umbrella of Trinity Assembly of God.
As far as needs, obviously financial assistance and prayers are appreciated, Dancz says they could also use some maintenance help as well. He says they need a new shower as one of the bathrooms needs a remodel. You can learn more or give by visiting the church’s website at https://tagchurchcarmi.com/the-refuge. You’re also welcome to call (405) 255-2662.