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| Recent Press Stories
WILKES-BARRE – Christina, 38, wants a job and her own place so that she can get  off of disability. Victoria, 28, wants to get her life back on track after the recent flooding washed away many of her possessions. Grace, 53, raised her grandchildren, went on disability and recently was evicted. Debbie, 21, has found a new place to live; now she needs a job to sustain a life for herself and her daughter. These four women and many others have found refuge and help at Ruth’s Place – the only area shelter for homeless women. Since 2003, Ruth’s Place has provided emergency shelter and services for more than 1,200 homeless women. The nonprofit organization needs help to continue assisting women in need. Bill Bolan, chairman of the board of Ruth’s Place, said the organization’s biggest annual event –the “Mile in Her Shoes” walk-a-thon – will be held Sunday. “While the shelter has faced cutbacks like any social service agency, the real story is the tremendous strides that the shelter has made in giving on-site services and placing women into permanent housing,” Bolan said. “We do this while giving each woman the full amount of dignity and respect that they deserve; this is the cornerstone of our program.” Christina, Victoria, Grace and Debbie agree. “My aunt threw me out of her house because I brought my daughter for a visit,” Debbie said. “Here at Ruth’s Place, nobody judges you; we get to hear each other’s stories and get new perspectives on life.” Center Director Kristen Topolski said the 24-hour shelter provides beds, showers and counseling for the clients. Appointments are made for health and social services. “Our clients come to us after having lost their job, or they are victims of domestic abuse, or they just can’t earn enough to pay for an apartment and all expenses,” Topolski said. There are 16 clients staying at Ruth’s Place. The capacity is 20, but when temperatures drop, Topolski said the facility can take in five more people. In 2010, 211 women were sheltered at Ruth’s Place and 100 of them were placed in permanent housing, Topolski said. Many others returned to family or friends to live, she said. Since women's homeless shelter Ruth's Place moved to a permanent location in  Wilkes-Barre's North End more than two years ago, the organization has added a kitchen, laundry facilities, showers and other resources for the women who come through its doors. Homeless shelters across the country are dealing with funding cuts, and the Wilkes-Barre facility is no different.The shelter lost about 20 percent of its funding from 2010 to 2011, said Bill Bolan, president of the board of directors for the shelter. Its budget for 2011 was about $210,000, he said. Ruth's Place receives funding from federal, state, county and city sources, as well as individual donors. Fluctuations in funding are nothing new for a homeless shelter, Bolan said. "But the trough is deeper now," he said. At a press conference Thursday, Bolan and Ruth's Place director Kristen Topolski outlined the shelter's achievements since its founding in 2003 - more than 1,200 women aided, including 102 women who found permanent or transitional housing last year. The shelter has 20 beds for overnight stays and can bring in five more beds for emergencies. Cindy Conden of Wilkes-Barre and Angel Carbe of Plains Township were staying at the shelter Thursday. "When I walked in, I was honestly scared people would be mean or not like me. They welcomed me. I'm grateful," said Carbe, 18. "It feels like one big family. I never thought 12 sisters would make a good family, but it is. People understand you." The shelter will hold a rally and walk at 1 p.m. Nov. 13 to raise awareness of homelessness. The walk will begin at Public Square and continue past places homeless women visit for help, such as the Salvation Army center and the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen. bwellock@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051 WILKES-BARRE – The only emergency shelter for single women in Northeastern  Pennsylvania is facing devastating funding cuts and is in dire need of community support. Ruth’s Place: House of Hope Inc., has come a long way since it was started by the Rev. Keith Benjamin and his wife, Julie, in the basement of First United Methodist Church in 2003. Then, it was run entirely by volunteers and housed up to 30 homeless women per night through the winter months, board President Bill Bolan said at a press conference Thursday. After the church closed in 2008, the shelter moved to temporary locations until finding a permanent home in July 2009 at its current location in Wilkes-Barre’s North End, Bolan said. Shelter Director Kristen Topolski said the shelter now can house up to 20 women per night and provides case management services, many of them in-house, to find housing, obtain employment, access drug, alcohol or mental health services if needed, and learn basic life skills such as budgeting and healthy living. “We’ve had tremendous success,” Topolski said. “Last year alone, we housed 102 women and found them permanent housing. They just need some guidance and support to point them in the right direction.” Bolan said Ruth’s Place has had tremendous support from community organizations, local and county government and the public. Still, a 30 percent cut in the federal Emergency Food and Shelter program and less funding from the state Emergency Shelter Grant program are threatening shelter operations, he said. Bolan invited the public not only to consider donating money or household and food items to the shelter, but to also to sign up for and participate in the fourth annual walk-a-thon – “A Mile in her Shoes” – beginning at 1 p.m. Nov. 13 on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre to raise awareness for the shelter. Participants walk a two-mile loop past many of the social service agencies that homeless men and women have to visit regularly in order to survive. | |
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