St. Benedict’s is launching their annual Champions of Hope campaign for their women and family shelter, with the money going toward helping ensure the facility has the necessary supplies to serve clients.
Executive Director Harry Pedigo said that on average the shelter serves anywhere from 10 to 15 women and families a day. In 2021, they were able to serve 229 women and families with the funds raised. Pedigo said they raised about $10,000 last year to use for the center and different programs.
During the pandemic, they had converted the women and family shelter to a quarantine shelter which displaced their usual crowd of clients.
However, with the amount of funding raised they were able to put clients in a hotel room for up to 15 weeks, while providing hygiene products, food and other necessities.
“We ask ourselves, ‘What are the needs that the lady or the family has?’ and we try to meet that need,” Pedigo said. “So it’s really just a good way for us to continue our prevention and intervention services at the women and family facility.”
Some of the ways they use funding include mental health evaluations and substance use treatments along with the specialized needs of the client. One instance Pedigo noted was a client needing furnishings for an apartment, and when she arrived she knew that she could be cared for by St. Benedict’s.
“It lights us up, but also, you can see that she’s more hopeful now than she was when she first started interacting with us,” he said.
Pedigo said that to become a sponsor, an organization or person can donate $500. Interested organizations can stop by the Hickman Avenue location or donate online here.
