Bishop Dudley is building a new space for families in need

As part of Bishop Dudley Center for Families' “Open Doors, Open Arms” campaign, the nonprofit will be expanding services, offering more safety, shelter and vital resources to families in need.

The center's officials recently hosted an open house, giving people a first look at what the facility will be able to offer families in the Sioux Falls area.

“This facility gives us the opportunity to open our doors and our arms a little bit wider,” said Amanda Kippley, president of the board of directors at Bishop Dudley.

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In total, the project will cost $3.5 million to complete with $1.7 million already raised during the past year. The goal is to open by this summer.

The center will be located at 409 N. Western Ave., the previous location for the Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety (formerly Children's Inn), a domestic violence shelter that relocated late last year.

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The vacant building is owned by Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership, which purchased it in 2022 with the intent of partnering with Bishop Dudley.

“This partnership is a win for the hundreds of families whose lives will be transformed under this roof…and will help us bring an end to generational poverty,” said Madeline Shields, Bishop Dudley’s executive director.

Sioux Falls School District statistics during the 2023-2024 school year indicate that more than 700 families were experiencing homelessness with more than 1,400 students registered as homeless.

While touring the current Bishop Dudley location, Inter-Lakes Community Action CEO Eric Kunzweiler said it was truly an “eye-opening” experience to the importance of moving families to a more central, safe location.

Rev. Donald E. DeGrood, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls, said it brings “great joy to his heart” that families will have a safe and comfortable place to go.

“...When we all join together, amazing things happen,” DeGrood said.

The Bishop Dudley Center for Families will feature 10 units dedicated to homeless families, as opposed to the seven rooms currently offered at its downtown location.

Amenities such as computer access for homework and job searches, laundry facilities, indoor and outdoor play areas and dedicated family case management will all be provided at the new center.

The facility will house 10 family suites, each with two or three bedrooms, along with a private bathroom and a small living room. Guests will be served three meals a day in the congregate dining space.

The existing family rooms at Bishop Dudley will be repurposed as transitional housing for sober guests with full-time jobs, further expanding the capacity to support individuals on their journey to stability and independence.

Fundraising chairs for the Bishop Dudley board, Tom Stritecky and Vince Jones, said they have both seen “a real transformation of the ability for people to come out and lead a true life again” and estimate about 80 families a year will be able to return to a true living situation.

“We will be walking alongside them to obtain employment and daycare and get back on a path to self-sufficiency,” Shields said.

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Families, who previously stayed at Bishop Dudley, were in attendance for the Center for Families open house Friday.

Tyler and Stephanie VandeBrake and their children Maddie and Skylar shared their journey of finding refuge at the shelter amidst financial struggles and the loss of a loved one. Tyler and Stephanie VandeBrake are both deaf and speak American Sign Language, which created a communication barrier for them.

“I was asking in prayer to God, ‘Please help my family, please. I'm needing help. Please, please, please. We need help,’” Stephanie VandeBrake signed.

Bishop Dudley officials were able to provide an interpreter for them, something other places did not have.

Tyler VandeBrake, who worked for Smithfield, said they are thankful that they could live together as a family and not be separated.

After four months, the family moved into their new apartment and Tyler VandeBrake started his new job.

Adam Bucciarelli, another former resident, expressed gratitude for the stability and assistance offered by the shelter during a challenging period that left him and his autistic son and young daughter homeless.

Bucciarelli lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic and he and his family were evicted.

“All the while, I was so busy trying not to be homeless that I had to turn off my emotions and at the end of the day, that’s when feelings of exhaustion and being overwhelmed would kick in,” he said.

Bucciarelli said it was a relief when they came to Bishop Dudley in that they didn’t have to worry about where they would sleep. He also said he was grateful to be able to have his son’s food for his gastrotomy tube (G-tube), a tube that provides nutrients to his body through his stomach, shipped to them at the center.

“I don’t know what we would have done without it,” Bucciarelli said of Bishop Dudley.

Six months later, Bucciarelli was able to find stable housing and employment and, as of December, completed his master's degree.

With ongoing efforts to secure funding and volunteer support, Shields stated what the center really needs now is volunteers to help with cleaning, cooking, mentoring, providing technology guidance and tutoring children.

“There are so many people who have so many talents,” Shields said.

People can also donate needed items or make a monetary donation at bdhh.org.

“Projects like this are truly a community effort,” Kippley said. “The ability to open the Bishop Dudley Center for Families is a testament to the commitment the Sioux Falls Community has made to providing safety, shelter and life-saving resources to unhoused families.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Bishop Dudley to open new family center in summer 2024