BELLOWS FALLS — Here at Immanuel Episcopal Church in Bellows Falls, we watched with concern this past winter when the Great Falls Warming Shelter was denied its permit to operate and could not serve the area's homeless.
We have donated to the Greater Falls United Network (GFUN) through Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) to support the Warming Shelter each year and have been represented by one of our deacons, Rev. Charles Mansfield, at the planning meetings.
We pledge $6,000 as seed money to ensure there will be a shelter in Bellows Falls. This seed money would be given on the condition that other churches and organizations match it to create a fund for a permanent home for the warming shelter.
We hope this pledge will bring the community together around the cause of the Great Falls Warming Shelter.
Homelessness is not a problem to be ignored and solved with a not-in-my-backyard attitude. The economy might be slowly improving, but homeless people will always live in our midst. We have it in our power as a community to make their lives more bearable during the Vermont winters, and perhaps all year around.
Will churches, and other organizations and businesses in the Great Falls area, step up to this challenge and help bring this proposed fund up to $12,000?
We can then build the fund from there to establish a permanent shelter in Bellows Falls.
We can do it together.