'Long time in coming': Ground broken for new homeless shelter in New Philadelphia
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Gabriel "Gabe" Burton said he believes a planned new homeless shelter in New Philadelphia will be a great improvement for people living without housing in Tuscarawas County.
"I've seen some of the blueprints and pictures, and I think it will be excellent for privacy and feeling like you have your own place to recover and heal from what's been happening in your life. I really believe they've done an excellent job of designing the whole thing. It's been really thought out. It looks amazing," he said.
Burton, who is homeless, has been a resident of the shelter, operated by the Friends of the Homeless of Tuscarawas County at 211 E. High Ave., New Philadelphia, since December. He has just signed a lease to move into his own apartment.
90-year-old structure
Ground was broken for the new $4.5 million shelter on Thursday behind the current facility, which is more than 90 years old and no longer meets the needs of the shelter.
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"They've done the best they can to keep up with everything, but there's a lot of failing plumbing. Everything creaks. You can tell it's an old place. It's probably time for a redesign," Burton said.
When the current shelter is full, up to eight people have to share a room. "It can be a little hectic, especially when you're trying to work a job, especially a night shift job. I know from personal experience. You kind of feel you're intruding on people and stuff like that," he said.
What is planned
The shelter will be known as Jack's House of Hope after Jack Ream, who founded Friends of the Homeless in 2003. Ream, who will be 94 on Memorial Day, is still of the board of directors.
The 20,000-square-foot facility will be attached to the current shelter and will have 14 individual rooms for men, 13 rooms for women and four rooms for families. The building includes a chapel, dining hall, kitchen, offices, meeting rooms, community space for shelter guests and an interior courtyard with a playground.
Construction is expected to begin in September.
In Phase Two of the project, the old shelter will be renovated to house the Pathway to Wellness sober living program. The building currently housing Pathway to Wellness, at 119 Second St. NE, will be torn down to clear space for the new structure. The renovated original building will also provide additional office space and needed storage.
So far, the organization has raised $1.7 million of the funds needed for the project.
To coincide with construction, Friends of the Homeless introduced a new logo during the groundbreaking ceremony to honor Ream and reflect the organization's mission to assist families and individuals. The winner of the logo design contest was Melody Sprowl, a student in the Indian Valley Local School District. Dozens of entries were received in the contest.
'It's been a long time coming'
The project has been long delayed.
Plans for the new shelter were announced in January 2022. The organization had considered five other locations in New Philadelphia to build a new shelter, but all of the sites were rejected by city officials and drew opposition from neighbors. Friends of the Homeless finally settled on the present site after New Philadelphia First Presbyterian Church, next door to the shelter, donated the shelter building and parking area behind the shelter to the organization in November.
"I think it's a glorious day," Jeff Mathias, Friends of the Homeless of Tuscarawas County capital campaign chairman, said prior to the groundbreaking. "The vision was God given. It was given to this guy, Jack Ream, for a homeless shelter. It's going to be great because it's going to be called Jack's House of Hope, and hope means better things are ahead."
Mathias, speaking as Ream stood next to him, joked that he told Ream he can't die until the shelter is built. "He's a great man. He's a blessing by God," Mathias said.
Added Ream, "It's been a long time coming, but I'm very glad to see the community has gotten behind us and is going to make it happen."
Donations can be made by visiting fothtusc.org or by mailing a check to Friends of the Homeless, 211 E. High Ave., PO Box 466, New Philadelphia, OH, 44663.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or a jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Ground broken for new homeless shelter in New Philadelphia
