Beacon of Hope, a shelter for homeless men in downtown Fort Dodge, will be created in the Masonic Temple building on First Avenue North.
Once final papers on the sale of the historic building are signed March 1, work on the shelter will begin in earnest, with the goal of being open for as many as 100 men by fall.
Steve Roe, the person behind the shelter, said Beacon of Hope will accept no government funding because it will be a faith-based homeless shelter. He is convinced the community will stand behind the shelter with contributions of money, time and talent.
"My goal is it will grab their spirit and they'll want to partner with us, because it's going to take the whole community," he said. "This is our community - it's their project, their ministry."
Trinity United Methodist Church and its pastor, the Rev. Steve Peters, are fully behind Roe and the homeless shelter.
"The idea, the concept and vision for a men's homeless shelter in Fort Dodge is not unique to Steve," Peters said. "It's been here for years. God's using Steve to do it."
Roe said he started thinking seriously about a men's homeless shelter on a trip to Philadelphia, Pa., when he met a young man who had started a Christ-centered shelter.
"What grabbed me about him is he said he met Jesus down in the ghetto," said Roe, who wondered, "what could my youth group do to reach out to the homeless?"
Working with Hope Ministries in Des Moines, the group from Trinity United Methodist took bags of necessities - a can of soup, a sandwich, a bottle of water, underwear and socks - to homeless people living in tents and shacks along the river in Des Moines.
"That's what the homeless got from us," Roe said, "but what we got from the homeless is a brand new heart. It just grabbed all of us."
Roe then talked with David Burrier, director of development at the Des Moines ministry, who offered to be a mentor to the Fort Dodge project, with the proposed Beacon of Hope becoming a satellite shelter to Hope's Bethel Missions.
"I went to Pastor Steve and asked if the church could start a shelter," Roe said. "He said yes, if there's a passion for it."
Roe provided the passion.
That was about the same time the Masonic Temple went up for sale, and that building proved to be exactly what Beacon of Hope needed.
Three things are important in a prospective shelter, Roe said. "We need a full, working kitchen, and the kitchen here is just perfect. We need space, and we need a good location. There's plenty of space here, and to us the location is perfect."
The temple, he said, is within walking distance of many churches, including The Salvation Army, which serves a noon community meal, and the medical clinic. Because Beacon of Hope will be a faith-based shelter, the proximity of so many church denominations is a plus.
A sale price of $55,000 was negotiated.
That will not, however, move the Masons out of their long-time temple. For at least 18 months, the Ashlar Lodge of the Masonic Temple and the Eastern Star will lease the third-floor lodge room for meetings for a nominal amount. It's a perfect solution, some say, for the service organization that may have had to close its doors within 10 years because of the cost of operating the temple.
Starting the shelter is not without a fear of the unknown, however. Money will be needed up-front to install a sprinkler system on all three floors and to replace the front doors so panic bars are available.
Without government funding, Beacon of Hope will rely solely on any grants Roe can find and whatever donations come in from the community.
Ann Davidson, director of the YWCA women's shelter, said she's optimistic that Beacon of Hope will be backed by the community because a men's shelter is needed.
"I can think of, at least once every year, a situation where Mom and the kids have a place to stay here, but Dad has to sleep in the car, if they have a car," she said. "It's wonderful that a men's shelter will be opened. The need is far greater than even I think it is, and I think it's huge."
Davidson said this "is an opportunity to open the eyes of the community to the difficulty of the problem," adding that going without government funding may be hard, but she understands the reasoning.
"Spiritually, our homeless clients are very receptive to putting their lives in the hands of a higher power," she said. "They recognize the need for that in their lives and they actively seek it out."
It will be required of men in shelter to attend chapel for an hour every evening and church on Sunday, Roe said. It is planned that chapel services will be led by community church groups that offer a Bible-based message.
A full working barber shop will be part of the shelter, too, said Roe, a barber. He'll give the haircuts. He's hoping for others to step up and provide other necessities.
"People in Fort Dodge are extremely generous and caring," Peters said. "But we have short memories and are easily distracted from a good cause."
Still, Roe knows it will happen. "I believe in making your dreams so big, you can't humanly reach them," he said. "When you take the narrow path, you will appear crazy. How many time this winter have we wished this was ready, but there's a lot of stuff you have to go through to do an act of kindness."
Contact Sandy Mickelson at (515) 573-2141 or smickelson@messengernews.net
