Paul Platz/SPPSKaren Carson adds canned food and pasta to bags for those in need at Interfaith Food Pantry on Progress Street.
The Rescue Mission is the largest provider of emergency help to Roanoke and the New River Valley. It is composed of a health care facility, a family and female shelter, a transient male shelter and a male recovery program.
Some of the supportive services that the program offers include meals, showers, clothing, furniture, assistance with prescriptions and employment training. This facility -- which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year -- serves as a safety net to those who are in need.
Even though the official start to winter has not yet occurred, the number of people in need of shelter has skyrocketed.
Scott from the Rescue Mission, who was unable to make his last name public, addressed the rise in demand.
"Typically the number of men staying in the men's shelter is around the 70s in the summer and 120s in the winter," Scott said. "This summer the numbers were in the 100s, and in the winter there have been about 140 men staying."
Jessica at the family and female center, who was also unable to disclose her full name, said that on Saturday, Dec. 6, there were 151 women and children sleeping there.
Every day the shelter serves nine complimentary meals (three breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners) to those who are hungry. Typically they serve about 900 meals a day to the needy. In an average week, three gallons of pancake syrup, 24 bottles of ketchup and 50 pounds of sugar are used. With freezing weather underway, the numbers are not decreasing.
The family, female and men's shelters are experiencing far greater numbers than they have in past years. And with this increase comes a greater need for everyday items.
"Just about anything that you need or have to use, we need here at the mission, too," Jessica said. "No one particular item is needed the most. Things from deodorant, socks and razors, all the way to food and donations can be used."
The Rescue Mission also offers a thrift store where the needy can buy clothes, household items and other goods for affordable prices. Anything that can still be used can be donated to the store. Items needed by the poor, such as clothing and household goods, will be given away at no cost, while other items will be sold, with the revenue used to provide needed services for the poor. This includes meals, shelter and medicine.
The Rescue Mission's Web site, rescuemission.net/core.html, gives suggestions of how to help those in need. Hunters can take their field-dressed game to be processed and donated to the Mission, gardeners can plant extra rows for the mission, and quilts are needed for both the men and family shelters.
Those who are looking to volunteer or donate closer to home may consider aiding Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry, which is located at 505 Progress St. in Blacksburg. Its phone number is 382-6186.
Other ideas include donating items to the thrift store, giving money to help pay for meals or showers for the needy, or just volunteering to help.
food bank, rescue mission, homeless shelter
