16. 26. 24. 7. 365.
They could be numbers on a lottery scratch-off card, but for Darryl Jones, shelter program manager at the new City Road Center for Hope Men’s Shelter, they signify a jackpot of a different sort.
The newly renovated space at the former City Road Methodist Church can provide overnight shelter for 16 men, and up to 10 more in the overflow area. That makes 26 altogether who can find refuge, a warm bed and more within the walls of the emergency shelter.
Once open only during the winter months, the shelter now can be open every day, all year. 24/7.
Jones was a guest on Wednesday’s TownTalk and said the shelter never had to close during the transition from its original space in the basement of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Henderson to its new location at 903 N. Garnett St.
The public is invited to come out and see the transformation in a couple of upcoming events – a ribbon-cutting ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9 and a celebration on Saturday, Oct. 12, also at 10 a.m.
Jones said these events will serve an important dual purpose: first, to show the community the results of their donations and financial support and, second, to show how much the shelter needs to have ongoing support.
When they were in the church basement, the shelter didn’t have utility bills to pay, he said.
“Now, we have to pay that,” lights, water and more are just a few of the ongoing costs the shelter will incur.
Critical ongoing support, will help the shelter “keep moving forward and growing,” Jones said.
“This thing is bigger than me, bigger than our organization,” he said of the overarching concept of homeless ministry.
Following the teachings of Jesus, Jones said the shelter staff and volunteers choose to help the “least” in the community. In this case, it’s men who for a variety of reasons find themselves without housing.
“We’re trying to help homeless people get back on their feet,” said Jones, who once found himself on the receiving end of the shelter services just more than a decade ago. During that time, a man named William James Avery was a volunteer overnight supervisor. He became a member of the paid staff, and the overflow room at the new shelter is named in his memory.
Jones said Avery was looking forward to seeing the shelter in its new space; he died in 2023 at the age of 80.
Jones called Avery a friend and coworkers. “He was a mainstay with Community Partners of Hope for nine years. He was somebody you could always count on…when nobody would show up, he would come.”
Visit www.cp-hope.org to sign up to provide meals, and to learn about other ways to support the shelter.
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