Earlier this year, there was a destitute woman living in the gazebo at Searland Park and a number of citizens were displaced when the city had to condemn several commercial residences. Newton has also been no stranger to travelers who are down-and-out.
With the issue of homelessness seemingly on the rise in Newton, a band of citizens has joined together to form Friends in Hope, a new nonprofit group that is a subsidiary of Newton’s Salvation Army office.
“We don’t have any big dreams of having a shelter or anything like that — we know it’s needed. What we’re thinking about approaching it from is seeing if there would be a group of churches or individuals that might be willing to sponsor or pay for an apartment that we might use for temporary housing,” said Rita Baker, FIH spokesperson.
The group met informally several times during the summer, before formally organizing a few weeks ago.
Baker said FIH is approaching the homeless issue from a different standpoint than most organizations. They are abiding by the philosophy of giving a hand up, rather than hand out, which is why its volunteers are to be more like mentors.
“What we are setting up is just simply a mentoring kind of arrangement,” Baker said. “We know that in the community, different people — in addition to having an open heart and a kind spirit — would have expertise in things like helping find housing.”
FIH wants to create a diverse group of volunteers. In its applications, it asks volunteers how willing they are to work with families with children, individuals and teenagers. In addition it also asks volunteers how willing they are to work with people who may have mental health issues, general health issues or chemical dependency.
In lieu of any financial support, FIH wants it volunteers to be able to do anything from giving a ride up to assisting with helping with financial aid applications. There are nine different ways listed a volunteer can assist and they don’t have to be willing to do them all.
“We’re just going to line up people until we kind of have a bureau of volunteers who would be willing to help with this. We give the people a lot of leeway,” Baker said.
Baker said they would also like a person who is LGBT friendly in their database.
FIH isn’t just for Newton area residents. Baker said this program is for all of Jasper County. The group has been meeting on regular basis at various location around Newton, and Baker said a number of officials, including Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty and Newton Police Chief Jeff Hoebelheinrich, have attended meetings.
“We have a real positive attitude. It’s like maybe a new and different approach to it. But we do believe that it is doable and we believe that there are people in Jasper County that will step up to the plate and help and that aren’t afraid,” Baker said.
For more information on FIH or to become a member, contact the Salvation Army at (641) 792-6131.
Contact Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6532 or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.