By Laurie
They started out small. Back in 1995, a new street ministry began serving Olympia’s homeless population by offering free sandwiches and hot drinks out of the back of a pickup truck. “They realized, because of the weather here, that they really needed an indoor facility, so the gentleman who took over directorship at that point started going to all the churches requesting help,” explains Virginia Schnabel, Director of Development for Olympia’s Union Gospel Mission (OUGM). After only two years, the founders were able to purchase an old open warehouse downtown on Franklin Street. “Since that time it’s just been adding on and remodeling,” says Schnabel.
An expanded space meant that the mission could expand its services, and today Olympia’s Union Gospel Mission serves over 64,000 meals a year at its downtown facility. Additionally, thousands of Thurston County’s needy have taken advantage of the free dental, vision, and medical services the OUGM provides. In the last fiscal year alone, over 2600 patients were seen in the mission’s Dental Clinic. About 30 dentists, assistants, and hygienists volunteer their time to staff the three chair clinic.
The Vision Clinic works in collaboration with the Lions Club to provide free vision screenings and glasses to those who need them. The Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute in Chehalis has also volunteered their services for those who might need cataract surgery. Approximately 500 patients a year are seen in the twice weekly clinic.
The two-year-old Medical Clinic provides primary care for patients with chronic disease. About 30 medical professionals from doctors to nutritionists saw almost 900 patients in the past fiscal year, and together they donated over 10,000 hours of time to the program.
There are 18 full and part- time staff employed by the mission, and the annual budget is pushing the $1.4 million mark. Funding comes primarily from individual donors. “It’s about 89% from individuals,” says Schnabel. “We don’t get any government funding.” Medical and dental providers volunteer their services, and local churches provide support in the form of money and volunteers. The mission currently has a data base of over 300 volunteers, and at least 20 to 25 people a day donate their time to various projects and programs.
“A lot of volunteer labor goes into what we do,” says Schnabel. But the paid staff provide stability for the programs. “A lot of time with volunteers it’s kind of hit and miss, so we have to have paid staff to keep things consistent.”
Part of the success of the OUGM is its ability to collaborate with other organizations. “We work with everybody!” laughs Schnabel. ” Anybody who is providing services to this financial group, we collaborate with. The Salvation Army provides overnight shelter which we don’t, so of course we’re collaborating with them on a regular basis.” Surplus food donations are shared with the Thurston County Food Bank and other organizations that help feed the hungry.
“A lot of people who are homeless and living on the street have mental health issues, so we do what we can for them here by providing a safe place to come and make friends and that kind of thing, but we’re not qualified on a daily basis to give mental health counseling, so we’ll pass them on to BHR (Behavior and Health Resources) for that kind of thing. We do have professional counselors on staff, but those are for the people who are in our committed recovery programs.”
If OUGM clients have addiction issues, staff and volunteers steer them toward the mission’s Bible based recovery programs. The residential program has two phases. The initial nine month phase is dedicated to just being committed to the program. “The men will come here (the downtown facility) during the day and have their classes and their counseling sessions and their study sessions, and they also help run the mission,” says Schnabel about the men’s recovery program. “At the end of that phase they are directed either to employment or a lot of them choose to go to college because they haven’t had any education yet. We help them with the process of getting into college or finding work. Some of them come in without the life skills they need in order to make that happen, so while they’re in the program they’re also getting training in life skills.”
The women’s recovery program also stresses education and development of life skills. Many of the women in the program have children, so their time outside of work, school, and counseling sessions is consumed with being a parent and developing those skills.
Schnabel explains that people in OUGM recovery programs who have some kind of income are required to give a small portion of that income to help cover their living expenses. “That is to help them build responsibility and understand that there is a cost to living. But those who don’t have any income are not required to pay anything until they do have some income. So it’s totally based on what they have.”
Graduates of the recovery programs as well as those who have been recipients of OUGM services are happy to give back to the program. A handful of them have even found a home on the staff. Cody is both the cook at the Life Transformation Center (the name of the downtown space) and a supervisor at the Jeremiah House, used in the men’s recovery program. “The mission pretty much saved my life,” he says. “Well, Jesus was the one that saved my life, but it was the hearts of the people here at the mission – they just opened up their hearts and doors to me.” Cody started volunteering at the mission while he was still receiving services. His dedication and testimony led to a full time gig.
Although it’s a Christian organization, OUGM services are open to everyone. On any given day, Cody or one of his cohorts can be heard delivering a message and prayer before the meals he and his team of volunteers dish up to the people who crowd the dining room at the mission. It’s usually a short message, a small prayer, but the hope is that it will be received with the love and caring with which it was offered.
The OUGM actively seeks donations of food and basic hygiene supplies. They are also interested in volunteers with the ability to tutor in basic reading, math, and computer skills. They are also looking for individuals willing to teach hobby and life skill classes like art or sewing.
For more information about Olympia’s Union Gospel Mission or to find out about volunteering or donating goods or services, please visit their web-site:
