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(ALLENTOWN, PA) – It is easy to underestimate the value of non-profit organizations to the community. The Allentown Rescue Mission provides comprehensive services to homeless men with very little cost to city or county governments, but this is not the case in every city.
“Denver’s annual per-capita spending on the unhoused is at least twice as high as the cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city” (The Denver Post, 5 August 2021). Renters pay an annual average of $20,000 for a one-bedroom unit in Denver. Denver Veterans Affairs reports that Denver spends more on homelessness per person than K-12 students.
Founded in 1900, the Allentown Rescue Mission helps homeless men reintegrate back into society with its three distinct programs: Emergency Shelter, Transformation Program, and the Clean Team Workforce. The Emergency Shelter and Transformation Programs are almost exclusively funded by private donors, while the Clean Team Workforce is self-funding.
In a typical year, the Allentown Rescue Mission serves almost 1,000 men. It provides them with over 24,000 nights of safe shelter and approximately 43,000 nutritionally balanced meals.
In addition to food and shelter provided in each program, guests in the Emergency Shelter receive clothing, case evaluation, and transportation to medical and county agencies. Clients in the Transformation Program are given clothing, one-on-one coaching, faith-based education, and life skills classes. And as part of the Clean Team Workforce, men earn income while fully employed and learn essential job skills and constructive work habits while accumulating savings in their personal custodial accounts. By the time the men leave the Clean Team Workforce, they’ve typically saved enough money for an apartment, secured permanent employment, and are restored as productive members of the community.
With recent COVID-19 variants taking hold in the Lehigh Valley, the Allentown Rescue Mission has expanded and extended various elements and operating practices that have added costs. The pandemic has also caused the Allentown Rescue Mission to cancel its largest annual fundraiser – the WAEB Bobby Gunther Walsh Spaghetti Dinner for a second straight year. Information on a virtual Spaghetti dinner will be released soon. As always, the Allentown Rescue Mission continues to rely on the support of its faithful donors and the numerous organizations that employ the Clean Team Workforce.
The Allentown Rescue Mission, a 501c3, 123 bed non-profit homeless shelter has been providing shelter for homeless men since 1900. In addition to emergency shelter services (365 days a year), the Allentown Rescue Mission offers a residential life skills program, and transitional employment on the Clean Team
that’s available for hire to the community. The Clean Team pays the men above PA state minimum wage– helping them save a nest egg to transition back into the community. In a typical year, the Allentown Rescue Mission provides shelter services for over 946 men per year, and serves over 42,000 meals a year to men in need.
To refer someone to the Allentown Rescue Mission for services or to learn ways you can help make a difference please visit www.allentownrescuemission.org
Information provided to TVL by:
Stefanie Appel
Community Relations
Allentown Rescue Mission
www.allentownrescuemission.org
