Our Chief Operating Officer
Chris Mitchell has been the HSH Director since 2012. He has dedicated himself to helping the homeless in our shelters to restore themselves to a productive place in society and to help displaced families pick up the pieces and move to a permanent home. Chris has implemented a program The Senior Employment Rehabilitation (SER) program for HSH Homeless Ministry, INC (HSH) and The Community Access Center (CAC) for years. This program provides funding for staff members who work in HSH and CAC. As Chris has stated, “An awesome program and a win-win for everyone!”
Chris is also very active in the community working with other organizations and our veterans.
HSH Director Chris Mitchell 2012~Present
Our History
In 2009, from a concept of helping the Community to address homelessness, “Home Sweet Home” and now “HSH Homeless Ministry, Inc “, has evolved from helping homeless men towards recovery, to accommodating men, women, women with children, families and veterans in five houses in Independence, Kansas. More than 800+ homeless clients have been helped towards independent living over the years. (Data from 2011-2022. See Charts below.) We are also proud to announce our new addition, “The Indy Resource Center”.
Mission
The mission of HSH Homeless Ministry, Inc – (Home, Sweet, Home), is: to provide temporary housing for homeless men, women, women with children, famiies and veterans: to help them attain an independent lifestyle through mentoring, guidance towards employment and professional assistance, if needed.
Focus
Currently, HSH Housing is not an overnight accommodation, but focuses on rehabilitating one person at a time towards self-sustaining and independent living. Initially addressing homeless men, the focus has expanded to include homeless women, women with children, families and veterans.
In Freedom House 2 the Board has completed the Indy Resource Center for bathing, doing laundry and getting a bite to eat. The Board and Director have renamed Freedom House 2 to: Indy Resource Center. Upon completion of the facility, volunteer Hannah Risner is HSH’s Vice President, and Coordinator in charge of the Indy Resource Center.
Freedom House 1 is now open after completing some repairs.
Facilities
Our working facilities comprise of the: 1.) “Bobbi House” (Men’s shelter with eight beds); 2.) “Bright House” (initialy called Hope House), and 3.) “Henson House” (Primarily for women with children or single women); 4.) Miller Veteran’s House (For a veteran or a veteran with family) and 5.) Freedom House (For a veteran.). We have completed a resource center, “Indy Resource Center”, which is where one can shower, do their laundry, visit, get a bite to eat.
All of the houses, except “Henson House” and “Miller Veteran’s House”, were donated but required modifications/repairs/upgrading. Houses which are donated and not purchased have a longer completion time due to correcting structual issues which are not a part of a purchased/appraised house.
All of these homes were funded through separate fundraisers and volunteer work.
Clients
Our Board made a conscious decision not to have more than two homeless men at a time in the men’s shelter during the Covid pandemic, 2020-2021, which cut down our program participants, we are continuing that practice. Overall, including HSH’s predecessor organization, at the end of 2022 more than 800+ homeless people have been helped since 2011, to restructure their lives towards independent living. Which is a success for HSH’s ministry’s effort and the Community to assist homelessness but also, in helping to restore homes in the city of Independence, KS.
Budget and Use of Funds
Our expenses for clients in 2022 were approximately, $71,400. We have only one (part time) employee; the Director, Chris Mitchell. (The other employees are paid through an SER grant.) On a “per client” basis the cost are around $400-$700 per successfully graduated client. This – we believe – is a hugely efficient use of funds when compared with usual published costs of homelessness abatement statistics.
Community Involvement and Outreach
The larger Independence City / Montgomery County / South East Kansas areas recognized in the early 2,000s that there is a homeless problem not only in big cities, but also in rural areas. The local community has been hugely supportive of HSH’s effort to reduce homelessness not just on an overnight, but on a more permanent basis. The business community, Churches, Service Organizations, Community Chest, City and County offices, Momentum organization and Four County Mental Health have been major supporters of HSH’s efforts.
Organization
HSH Homeless Ministry, Inc is a Kansas Corporation with a 501c3 status, EIN #81-4589851. It is governed by a Board and a Board of Directors, all from the community and from different walks of life. The Board meets monthly, has a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Officers. The Director responds to the Board and the Board of Directors. HSH has Board and Board of Directors approved Bylaws, various committees for governance, conflicts of interest, appropriation of funds, etc. Its financial statements are audited annually.
Funding
All funding is through grants, individual and corporate contributions. Physical donations include clothes, furnishings, food and real estate/houses. The organization has no commercial income. Improvements of the facilities is accomplished through separate, targeted fundraisers. Newspaper publicity, TV interviews and presentations to the community as well as rummage and other publicity and sales events are being used extensively.
Current Focus
Currently, HSH is working and operating our “Indy Resource Center” and Freedom House has been repaired and is now in use.
Outlook
Homelessness, like poverty will never go completely away. HSH is dedicated to continue its mission to address homelessness at the local level by focusing on “one person at a time”. The success so far is very encouraging. Community support is steady as people realize a positive impact on City life. Employment is often a challenge, but many employers have made special allowance for recovering homeless people’s special needs. A major challenge is to find affordable low rent housing for our graduating clients. HSH is working with city and County officials and others to address this issue.
