City Mission celebrates first anniversary of Women with Children Shelter
Submitted photo
Katherine Patton, a resident at the Washington City Mission鈥檚 Women with Children Shelter, sits with her two daughters Jaden, 9, and Olivia, 13, in the lounge of the facility. (Courtesy of Washington City Mission)
Katie Anderson
Katherine Patton, a resident at the Washington City Mission鈥檚 Women with Children Shelter, sits in the lounge of the facility. She and her children plan to move into their own rental home next week.
Katie Anderson
Tonya Aldridge and her daughter, Jariyah, 4, stand in front of the Washington City Mission鈥檚 Women with Children Shelter, where they鈥檝e been living for nearly a year. They plan to move into their own place next month.
The Washington City Mission is celebrating the first anniversary of its Women with Children Shelter.
The grand opening of the West Wheeling Street facility was held a year ago today, and it鈥檚 been full ever since.
鈥淲e have over 60 families on the waiting list,鈥� said Amber Miller, manager of the Women with Children Program. 鈥淚 knew the need was out there, but I didn鈥檛 anticipate the need would grow as much as it has. There鈥檚 never been a time when we weren鈥檛 full.鈥�
The program is one year to 18 months long, depending on the needs of the families. So far, they鈥檝e helped 33 families, though not all stayed the full length of the program, Miller said.
鈥淯sually within nine to 10 months their housing comes through,鈥� Miller said.
Katherine Patton, a resident, is excited to be getting keys to her own place next week. She and her two daughters, Jaden, 9, and Olivia, 13, have lived at the shelter for about a year. She had gone through inpatient treatment for addiction and moved into the Turning Point halfway house on North Main Street. But that program was only six months, and she didn鈥檛 want to return home to Mercer County.
鈥淚 knew that if I went back home I would have ended up the same way I was when I left,鈥� she said.
Patton decided to move into the Women with Children Shelter so she could have her daughters with her, since she had been without them for more than six months.
鈥淚t was really scary because I didn鈥檛 know what this place provided or what my journey would look like,鈥� she said.
In the year she spent there, Patton said both the mission staff and the other residents provided a safe environment and accountability.
鈥淵ou always have somebody to talk to about the good, the bad and the ugly,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t makes you feel like you鈥檙e not alone in the world.鈥�
According to the mission鈥檚 news release, Patton is now studying to be a certified recovery specialist and a family recovery specialist. She hopes to work in the Mission鈥檚 Women with Children Program after she moves out.
鈥淚 want to build a career helping addicts, trauma victims, and people with mental health issues,鈥� she said in the release. 鈥淗elping people gives me purpose.鈥�
Another resident, Tonya Aldridge, plans to move out by next month. She and 4-year-old daughter Jariyah moved into the shelter in December, after living at the Turning Point for six months. Before that, she spent 21 days in an inpatient treatment program for addiction.
鈥淚 set my pride aside and asked for help,鈥� Aldridge said.
After finishing the halfway house program, she didn鈥檛 have anywhere to live, and the mission was the only place that would allow women with children.
鈥淗aving kids with you makes you push harder to do the right thing,鈥� Aldridge said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e my motivation to stay clean and to get a house.鈥�
Aldridge also has two sons, ages 13 and 11, who live in Brownsville. She plans for them to move into her new rental home with her in Washington next month. Aldridge currently works for Arc Human Services and plans to go back to school to become a licensed practical nurse, as she is already a certified nursing assistant.
鈥淚鈥檝e been wanting to go back to school, but I don鈥檛 think I would have pursued it on my own,鈥� Aldridge said.
If not for the mission or the other women staying there, she said she probably wouldn鈥檛 be where she is today or as far along in her recovery.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all struggling with the same things and working toward the same goals,鈥� Aldridge said about the community in the shelter. 鈥淚f we see somebody slipping, we say something. You can be open with these people. Most people that come here don鈥檛 have family, but you build these relationships and they become your family.鈥�
The program also assisted Aldridge with transportation and childcare. Leah Dietrich, the mission鈥檚 director of residential programs, said in the news release that the children who stay there also spend time playing together.
鈥淭here are best friends in the making all the time,鈥� Dietrich said in the release. 鈥淭here is a lot of love in that building.鈥�
Anyone interested in donating or volunteering with the mission鈥檚 Women with Children Program can visit its website at www.citymission.org.