City Mission receives major grant as it rebounds from fire
U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, left, talks with Dean Gartland, CEO of the City Mission, Wednesday during a tour of the mission in Washington.
Dean Gartland, left, CEO of the City Mission, speaks Wednesday during a tour of the facility.
Washington City Mission’s rebound from a devastating fire got a major boost Wednesday.
The shelter received a $1.5 million Federal Home Loan Bank grant for the development of three residential projects on its West Wheeling Street property. Washington Financial Bank, serving as the member bank with FHLB of Pittsburgh, submitted the grant.
“I can’t tell you how much this means to me personally, and to the men and women served in the community,” said Dean Gartland, president and CEO of the homeless rehabilitation shelter. An early morning blaze June 9 displaced more than 60 men living there and destroyed the kitchen and dining room.
Officials from FHLB and Washington Financial and U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-18th District, were among participants in the presentation and a tour of the rapidly rebuilding City Mission that preceded the ceremony.
Murphy was among a half-dozen speakers, who included resident Marcus Meredith.
The $1.5 million grant will be split equally – $500,000 apiece – among three shelters:
• Avis Arbor, for women and children;
• McCausland Restorations, for men;
• and Renew Honor, for veterans.
Work in those areas, and elsewhere at City Mission, is not complete. But it is far along, and Gartland is hoping the facility will be fully operational by early June – almost exactly a year after the inferno.
During the tour and grant presentation, Gartland expressed gratitude for how residents, businesses and organizations throughout the region responded to City Mission’s plight by donating money, food and supplies – enabling the faith-based organization to continue to provide shelter and 300 meals a day.
Murphy, the author of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which is pending in the House, lamented that the general public tends to look askance at the homeless. “We should be committed to the last, the lost, the least and the lonely.”
He also said funding from the Washington County Local Share Account “should come here (City Mission) all the time. Sometimes it goes to those who don’t need it.”
City Mission was praised for its work throughout the presentation.
“We’re proud of our decades-long association with City Mission,” said Michael Chaido, senior vice president and chief operations officer for Washington Financial. “City Mission offers lasting hope. The outpouring of support after the fire was far-reaching.”
Meredith, who said he has been a resident since shortly before the blaze, is fully supportive of the people running his temporary home.
“They help you every step of the way,” he said. “The residents appreciate it far more than anyone can imagine.”
During the tour, Gartland showed the new kitchen and dining areas that are massive compared with what City Mission had. There used to be seating for 45 in the dining room; there will be space for 150 in the new one.
He said that with dividers, the dining room can be set up as three dining areas, which could be used by outside groups or organizations.
Kristina Williams, FHLB Pittsburgh’s chief operating officer, was impressed by the kitchen. “It is breathtaking,” she said.
Housing, obviously, is a major part of City Mission. There will be space for an estimated 96 men, 22 veterans and 12 families.
The fire had a profound effect on many people, especially Gartland, who has worked with the homeless in Southwestern Pennsylvania for 36 years. Yet, on a day when it got $1.5 million and was on public display, the City Mission took on a different aura – that of the mythical phoenix. Out of the fiery hot ashes …