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City Mission opens first library for residents

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Courtesy of Washington City Mission

The Washington City Mission opened last month a library with new books for their residents to enjoy.

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Courtesy of Washington City Mission

Ava Knapp, 8, helps select and sort books for the City Mission’s new library, which was started, in part, to honor the memory of her father, Saige Knapp, who died of an overdose in 2017.

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Courtesy of Washington City Mission

The Washington City Mission opened last month a library with new books for their residents to enjoy.

When Shelby Lonce first started working at the Washington City Mission in 2014, she had no idea her brother, Saige Knapp, had been residing there.

Knapp had struggled with addiction for about six years, and in that time, the Mission had taken him in a few times, Lonce said. Knapp later died from an overdose in 2017.

“When you lose a loved one, your whole world comes to a screeching halt, and it’s so maddening that the rest of the world keeps going like nothing happened,” Lonce said. “We wanted to find ways to honor Saige, to keep his memory alive, and as we move forward, to continue to bring him with us.”

When Lonce and her family cleaned out Knapp’s home, they found boxes of books.

“Saige was an avid reader,” Lonce said. “Books were what were important to him. They really helped him in his journey with recovery. They were an escape for him, but they also made him feel like he was home.”

Lonce not only decided to donate those books to the Mission, but to also hold a book drive, to gather enough books to start a library for the Mission’s residents.

“Saige kept a list of books he’s read and books he wanted to read, I started with those,” Lonce said.

She said the drive wasn’t even advertised, but through word of mouth, they now have 1,500 new books.

“We needed books and books started showing up,” she said. “I wanted to put new books in the hands of our residents because I knew that’s what Saige wanted in his recovery.”

The Mission converted a classroom in their career training and education center into a library space, with new shelves along the walls. Lonce sorted all the books and came up with a cataloguing system for residents to find and request books.

Matt Wallace, a City Mission resident this past year, also helped out with sorting and cataloging the books. He said he was excited to work on the project, as books have been important in his own journey, especially when it comes to growth, change, imagination and creativity.

“The power of words, whether in a book or coming from someone’s mouth – it has the power to change someone’s life,” Wallace said. “The library provides an opportunity for people of all backgrounds and faith a quiet space to be alone with a book.”

Knapp’s 8-year-old daughter, Ava, was also able to help with the library, selecting some of her favorite children’s books to include in the library.

“She was eager to help and talked a lot about the kid’s living at the mission, and how she hoped they will enjoy the books,” Lonce said in a statement. “We have around 400 children’s books in the library space.”

The library, which opened last month, is only open to one resident at time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents are able to check out books online and have them delivered. Lonce said the Mission could use more donations and funding for another shelf and some comfy chairs, for when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and resident may more fully enjoy the space.

“I’m really thankful for what the Mission has been for my family,” Lonce said. “I’m thankful that City Mission is here for our residents, because all of our residents are somebody’s brother or dad or sister.”

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