Director Shelley Brooks outside the Bethesda Women’s Mission on S. 20th Street.
For 33 years, Shelley Brooks has reported to work in a converted school building on S. 20th Street in Harrisburg, which houses the Bethesda Women and Children’s Mission.
The two-building facility has offered long-term shelter and recovery to women and children since 1983. Next year, it will undergo renovations that will double its bed capacity and increase space for programming.
Even though she’s spent much of her career in the same historic building, Brooks is ready for a new workspace.
“We did the best we could with a 100-year-old school building,” she said. “We’ve had to make many renovations to try to make it fit and safe for women and children. So, we’re excited about having new buildings that could provide much nicer living space for those that come through our doors.”
Bethesda Mission received its current, 10,000-square-foot facility as a gift from a local family, according to Scott Dunwoody, executive director of Bethesda Mission. The circa-1890 building formerly served as a barber school and a facility for foster children. Today, it needs so many repairs that it’s not economically feasible to rehabilitate it, he said.
“We’re running out of duct tape to keep the building going,” Dunwoody said. “It’s falling apart, plain and simple.”
The renovation plans call for razing the two existing structures on the site and replacing them with a new, 18,400-square-foot facility. The demolition and construction work will be done in two phases to avoid interrupting programs.
Demolition and construction are expected to begin in 2019, Dunwoody said. Harrisburg’s Zoning Hearing Board and Planning Commission have already approved the project, and Dunwoody does not expect any roadblocks from City Council.
Bethesda Mission can currently accommodate 20 women in its long-term recovery program. That number should increase to 50 when the new building is complete, Brooks said.
“Demand has always been an issue for us at the women’s shelter,” Brooks said. “Being a long-term program, we don’t have a lot of turnover.”
Brooks and Dunwoody said that the shelter’s waiting list runs between 10 and 20 names at a given time. They hope that the expansion will help them meet some of that demand, but both expect they’ll still have to turn women away. Brooks said that most shelters for women and children constantly operate at full capacity.
“Unfortunately, there’s always a need for our services,” Brooks said.
Dunwoody said that the expansion has made the shelter’s location public for the first time in its history. To increase security, the new shelter will have stronger doors, a high fence and significant landscaping, he said. There will also be new outdoor space with plants and vegetable gardens.
The expected cost of the project is $3.2 million, Dunwoody said. Bethesda Mission has already been approved for a $1.5 million loan from the Federal Loan Bank and received $875,000 in an estate gift.
Starting this summer, the Mission will begin seeking donations from private foundations to raise the remaining $1 million. The private, faith-based nonprofit does not take government loans or grants.
Given the extensive work ahead, Dunwoody said that Bethesda Mission did consider relocating the shelter entirely. After a search for property came up dry, directors decided to raze and rebuild at the current location.
“We say that we’re staying at home,” Dunwoody said. “”We’re staying at the site where we’ve been for 35 years and we believe we’ll do a wonderful job.”
