Topeka Rescue Mission trying to combat a growing concern

By PHIL ANDERSON

The Capital-Journal

Exterior construction is nearing completion on a new $2 million women's and family shelter at the Topeka Rescue Mission.

The two-story structure, located just west of the current facility at 600 N. Kansas Ave., will be equipped for 172 women and families.

If construction proceeds quickly this fall, the first guests could be accommodated around the first of the year.

Barry Feaker, the mission's executive director, said he hoped the new building would be completed by the time an additional 500 homeless and disabled individuals could be on Topeka streets sometime this winter.

A number of local groups and agencies are looking into the potential problem of additional homeless people in Topeka, Feaker said.

Even if the new structure was completed by the first of the year, Feaker said, it wouldn't be adequate to handle all the individuals who could lose their housing benefits when a government-funded program expires.

Meanwhile, work proceeds at the facility for women and families, a mission population that has increased steadily during the 1990s.

Need for the new project was studied for two years before the decision was made to build in July 1998.

Persistent overcrowding at the main mission building prompted the decision to construct the new facility. Work began this past spring on the new 23,000-square-foot facility, which is made of concrete blocks and meets Americans with Disabilities Act criteria.

The roof of the new building recently was finished, and windows were installed. Walls also have been constructed in the building's interior.

Plumbing and electrical work remains to be done before furnishings can be placed in the rooms.

Feaker said the mission is about $360,000 short of its fund- raising goal, with another $150,000 needed for furnishings.

The mission has an "adopt-a-room" program, through which individuals and groups can purchase dressers, beds and other furnishings. So far, about 10 of the 35 rooms have been sponsored.

Feaker said the mission will promote the new building's needs during its annual Christmas appeal. The mission also will continue to seek contributions for gifts and basic necessities for its guests during the holiday season.

After the new facility is completed, the current mission building will house approximately 177 men, and it will continue to include the main kitchen, dining room and chapel areas.

Call the mission at 354-1744, for more information.

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