The Rescue Mission of Roanoke is nearly sixty thousand dollars richer thanks to some local women. Yesterday NEWS 7 told you the Roanoke Women's Foundation gave the Mission 58 thousand dollars.
Mission leaders used the money to buy beds, over a hundred new beds for the Women and Children's Center building at the Mission.
Five years ago the mission bought wooden beds to make the space seem warmer and friendlier. But the wood basically started falling apart.
So they purchased custom-made metal beds the Mission says will last for a long, long time.
"They are built to last," says Mission CEO, Joy Sylvester-Johnson. "I will die, my children will die, my grandchildren will die before these beds go out of service."
The need is even more pressing when you look at the numbers. In October alone, the Women and Children's Center saw fifty percent more people stay overnight-- that's more than 1400 additional people-- increases the Mission says are the largest in its history.
"It's been a stress on this organization," she says. "But we are the first line of defense against homelessness and we are the last resort when someone is homeless."
Already, they've surpassed last years numbers for overnight stays. On average there are forty more staying in the Women's and Children's building each night. Currently, there is one room of metal beds right now, with more to come as soon as they're built.
