Dallas hosts national homeless meeting

By KIM HORNER / The Dallas Morning News

Less than a week after Dallas opened a new homeless center, hundreds of leaders from shelters nationwide will meet in the city to discuss the latest ideas for helping people leave the streets.

More than 600 people are expected to attend the 95th annual Association of Gospel Rescue Missions convention at the Hilton Anatole. Meetings get under way this morning.

One of the group's goals is to move beyond the image of charities that simply provide a bed and a meal, said Bill Thompson, executive director of the Union Gospel Mission in Dallas.

The Dallas mission, for example, plans more outreach and to provide housing and extensive job training, he said. The charity is raising money for 30 single-room apartments for the homeless near the city's new downtown homeless center, The Bridge, which opened Tuesday.

Projects like the Union Gospel Mission's apartments are exactly what's needed to make The Bridge a success, said Mike Rawlings, Dallas' homeless czar.

"Now that we were able to build The Bridge, they [charities such as Union Gospel Mission] are evolving and looking at other ways to fill the need," he said. "People are realizing that's the right answer, that a lack of affordable housing is such a big issue in Dallas now – that's where we've got to focus our attention."

The Dallas mission also is working on a program of vocational training in carpentry, masonry, floor and wall covering, and auto mechanics, Mr. Thompson said.

"We realize how undersupplied a lot of the building trades are, and what would be better than to have schools that produce people able to compete for those jobs or even start their own small businesses?" Mr. Thompson said.

Phil Rydman, spokesman for the Kansas City, Mo.-based Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, said the shelters need to adapt to an increase in the number of intact families – mom, dad and children – seeking help.

"That's a big change for us," he said. "Certainly not all our missions are able to serve entire families."

More apartment-style homes are needed so women and children don't have to be in a separate dorm from the fathers, he said.

For more information about the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions conference, go to: www.agrm.org.