'Never in a million years did I think I would be standing here' | Cherry Street Mission program readies graduates for the workforce
'Never in a million years did I think I would be standing here' | Cherry Street Mission program readies graduates for the workforce
Cherry Street Mission's Workforce Development Program graduated four people Friday. Some already have jobs waiting for them.
We’ve been reporting for months on employers having a hard time finding workers.
A program offered by the Cherry Street Mission is helping to connect those employers with people who are ready to make a positive change in their lives.
“Never in a million years did I think I’d be standing here,” Dominic Beltran said at his graduation ceremony at Cherry Street Mission on Friday.
Beltran said it’s because until about nine months ago, drugs and alcohol ruled his life.
“I wasn’t able to get up since I was under the influence. So it made it very difficult to make it anywhere I needed to go,” Beltran said.
He went through rehab with the Salvation Army, which led him to Cherry Street Mission’s Workforce Development Program.
“It feels very good,” Beltran said. “Honestly, I don’t know how to explain it.”
Courses taught by Northwest State Community College and Owens Community College instructors are offered in building trades, office specialist and auto tech, among others.
“What we’ve done is looking at what are some of the in-demand jobs that are happening in Lucas County right now. We try to stay in touch with that and we offer programs to help bring people to those positions,” Tami Norris, Vice President of Workforce Development for Cherry Street Mission Ministries, said.
The programs are short, taking a couple of months to complete; graduates get a credential supported by the colleges.
“There’s a variety of funding streams available to help pay for the classes,” Norris said. “So we work with you to determine which is the best way to get you funded to go into the classes.”
While the number of people receiving unemployment benefits has dropped to its lowest level since the 1970s, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 1.5 million fewer Americans are working than before the pandemic.
The four graduates who got their certificates at Cherry Street now have the skills to get a job that pays a living wage.
Beltran already has one. He’s soon to be working as a roofer.
“I start Monday at 8 a.m.,” he said.
Six months after graduating from Building Trades class at Cherry Street, Dominic has earned a $2 raise and is on track to “have his own crew” as a foreman. Dominic has said that the insight and techniques, soft skills and success training he learned from the class has helped him deal with negative coworkers. Dominic is over one year sober and his relationship with Christ is truly blossoming.
If you’re interested in signing up for a workforce development course, click here.
Teamwork Made the Dream Possible
Teamwork Made the Dream Possible
In early August, a generous donor, “Joyce,” contacted our discipleship manager, Stephanie Bays. She and her late husband have been long-time supporters of Cherry Street Mission Ministries. Her husband is recently deceased; she is relocating to Cape Coral, Florida. Wanting to honor her husband’s memory and make a difference in another’s life, she donated all her furnishings and household items to CSMM.
Stephanie, Discipleship Manager and Kimberly, Community Sustainability Coordinator met with Joyce and noticed that she had little help and her closing date of August 25 was fast approaching. CSMM Staff rallied to assist Joyce in packing the household items and delivering them to the Life Revitalization Center.
Program & Services reached out to Operations for assistance in moving the large furnishings from Joyce’s home to two of our graduates’ new homes. There was enough furniture for both grads—Ms. Tijuana Sibby-Brown and Mr. Mark Khoury! Both moved into local senior living communities in mid-August.
Joyce closed on her home and left for Cape Coral, Florida on Friday, August 26. She was happy to learn that her generous donations helped to provide comfort and joy to two of our Ready for Life graduates. We wish them well and ask for God’s blessings on their journey. Thanks to all involved!
Cherry Street treated me like family
Cherry Street treated me like family
Five years ago, Daryl Ribby was living as a guest at Cherry Street Mission Ministries, staring out the windows of the Life Revitalization Center, Hungry for Change.
On July 31, 2022, Daryl will celebrate his six-month work anniversary making Comfort Line® windows at a facility just eight miles from CSMM. In six short months, he has already earned a promotion to Line Leader, now overseeing the line that is manufacturing all of the windows for Cherry Street.
And that’s just the beginning.
Daryl’s boss and plant manager at Comfort Line, Matt Callanan, recalls vividly the day Daryl found out the company was awarded the contract to manufacture and install 519 new windows at Cherry Street’s LRC.
“His eyes lit up,” Matt said. “Daryl told me he used to be at Cherry Street. And I had no idea. Someone who was a guest here at Cherry Street is now making the windows we’re installing here today. That’s an amazing story.”
Experiencing homelessness came as a shock to Daryl at first, as it does to many others. He had experienced a difficult end to a relationship, and in the aftermath, he lost everything.
“I thought it was the end of the world,” Daryl said. “I was hurting. I didn’t think this would be me. But from the first day I got to Cherry Street, I told everyone this is going to be as short term as it can be.”
And he backed up that prediction – in a big way.
Daryl and his fiance, whom he met while they were both guests at Cherry Street, are now former guests supporting themselves, and supporting the community through the work they are doing week after week. And Daryl’s first visit back was the day he recently stopped by to see his shiny new windows replacing the existing opaque plexiglass windows that were installed many years ago.
“I made the best of my time here,” he said. “The people at Cherry Street helped me out tremendously. I appreciate all that everyone did for me. When I found out our windows were going here, I was so excited to help build them. I’m loving it.”
“The people that worked here treated me like family,” he added. “The conversations. Getting to know everyone. The comfort that this place provides makes it like home. But that’s the hard part. I didn’t want this to be my permanent home. Not that I didn’t like it, but I wanted my own place again.”
Daryl said he arrived at CSMM willing to listen to what the staff had to say. He was aware that “free advice – the good kind – is hard to come by,” and he understood the value of just sitting – and listening.
“Don’t be the only one talking,” he said. “Listening will be your best tool here. The people at Cherry Street are going to steer you in the right direction. Being here will change your life, if you let it.”
“There were points I thought, ‘what is my life becoming?’ But I’m a first-hand example, that there are a lot of very good people here. I’m still friends with alot of people I met here. This place will help you. Whatever help you need. Period.”
Back at the Comfort Line plant, Matt calls Daryl one of the best workers. He’s always smiling, has a great attitude that hasn’t changed a day that he’s been here. “Infectious” is how he describes Daryl’s positive affect on his co-workers.
In fact, Daryl has a new family, as he refers to his fellow employees.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs in 40-some years,” he said, “and this is the best. The management team is awesome, and my co-workers are awesome. We’re all a bunch of hard-working people who love doing what we do.”
Matt said “flourishing from within” is his company’s motto, and that they have many long-tenured employees with decades of service time. He added that he hopes Daryl is with the company a long time to come.
With the help of Cherry Street, an opportunity from a great local business, and Daryl’s determination, his story is just beginning.
Did You Know?
Did You Know?
We take stewardship seriously. And we know that every dollar given through the ministry was someone’s sacrifice and has a purpose to fulfill and a difference to make. With this in mind, we are very intentional about keeping a lean staff that is primarily focused on the essentials.
74% Ministry Team
26% Operations/Outreach
100% Dedicated to your community
In total, Cherry Street Mission Ministries employs a total of 62 employees, 48 of which are full time.The 74% of our team serving through direct ministry to guests includes seven Ministry Leaders, three Chefs,15 Housing Stabilization Advocates, and 21 Ready For Life Advocates. The other 26% is comprised of those whose ministry is to keep the mission functioning through operations and outreach.
Cherry Street Mission offering job training | Your Day
Cherry Street Mission offering job training | Your Day
Cherry Street Ministry Sustains Individuals Through Winter
Cherry Street Ministry Sustains Individuals Through Winter
Since its founding in 1947, Cherry Street Mission Ministries has had a singular calling: to provide sustenance for the body and nourishment for the soul. One of the most prominent local charities, Cherry Street’s Downtown Toledo facilities have expanded to include separate housing for males and females, and meals and services at its Life Revitalization Center and Mac Cafe in the former Macomber High School building.
But in addition to the normal increase in guests typical during the winter months, this season they’ve experienced an 800 percent increase in people experiencing homelessness for the first time.
“We’ve had to be exceedingly fluid in providing access to the activities this diverse population needs,” said Ann Ebbert, CEO / president of Cherry Street. Numerous new guests were impacted by the end of the federal moratorium on evictions last fall. Many people who had lost or left jobs during the pandemic were still able to remain in their homes. “But since October we’ve been full,” Ebbert said, because “when the moratorium went away, many of those who were subsistence living fell through the cracks.”
Many of the newer guests experiencing homelessness still have transportation, so Cherry Street is running out of space to park guest cars at its housing centers. In addition, Ebbert said that some guests are working at overnight jobs and will use the shelter and its services during the day, a departure from the organization’s regular schedule.
Solving Challenges
Every guest arriving at Cherry Street goes through the same intake assessment, where needs and issues are identified. “Some need a meal or a bed, while others need more,” said Ebbert. The organization develops its programming to assist guests with solving three problems:
- Achieving a stable income
- Securing safe and affordable housing to provides a sense of place, community and safety
- Building healthy relationships
Admission to the organization’s residential system requires a strict quarantine period until a prospective guest receives a negative COVID-19 test. Once that negative test comes in, the prospective guest can join into all the programs within the facilities. Hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing are also crucial to daily operations.
“We are a faith-based ministry organization, and that is one of the properties we explore with our guests,” Ebbert said. But participation in the spiritual ministry is not mandatory at the organization. “Everyone is on their own journey,” she said.
In addition to medical and mental health care, Cherry Street offers a variety of employment training programs to guests. “We act as a hub for all sorts of human services providers, so our guests can access everything at one stop,” Ebbert said.
Raising Funds and Awareness after 75 years
How are Cherry Street’s programs funded? “People here have gigantic, generous hearts, and our programs are always funded,” said Ebbert. Like many local charities, they rely on personal relationships in the community, along with a strong social media presence, to get the word out about their needs. Cherry Street publishes a wish list of items on its website, and a link to its wish list on Amazon. Typically (and especially during winter months) there is always a need for:
- Chap Stick (or other lip balms)
- Waterproof boots
- Waterproof gloves
Additionally, the Mission celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, kicking off with a February 14 commemoration of National Day of Soup (in a nod to Cherry Street’s start as a soup kitchen). Area restaurants will participate in a soup competition at the Mac Street Café. And a spring-to-fall partnership with area restaurants and bars will offer Cherry Street information through QR codes at tables.
Other events during this anniversary year include a “75 hours of prayer” observance during the week leading to Easter in April, a 75th anniversary party on June 15 and the annual fall fundraiser “Be the Bridge.” Watch their website, Facebook and Instagram pages for details.
Faith and Music Sustained Joseph
Faith and music have sustained Joseph his entire life.
They sustained him throughout a career in the music industry during which he toured the world; they uplifted him when he found that he needed the shelter and nurture of Cherry Street Mission Ministries, and they continue to uphold him as his plans for independence advance.
Joseph is grateful for the services and amenities that Cherry Street has provided for him, for the staff who are always trying to make things better, and for the fact that Cherry Street is doing “everything they need to be doing in the community.”
Talking with Joseph is like breathing fresh air in this confined, COVID-filled world. He has learned that no matter how much he has in life, he needs to remain humble. He should know. At one time he had it all—houses, cars, money. But he believes that he needed his Cherry Street experience to further his life journey. Since being here, he has learned more about himself and about the reality that humility is a part of life.
Joseph did not leave music behind when he came to us. His professional experience was as a professional keyboardist, but he also plays guitar, bass guitar, trumpet and sax. He pretty much plays it all. And he has played it here at Cherry Street.
Joseph advises his fellow Cherry Street guests to have the mindset that their experience here is only temporary; they can “get out of there” to independence. He wants donors to know that, besides all the services and resources available here, Cherry Street gives hope. In these days, hope is a precious commodity.
Veterans on the move
Veterans on the move
HOUSING FOR HEROES
Cherry Street has developed an incredibly beneficial partnership working with the Department of Veterans Affairs. One of the most powerful things we can do for our guests is connect them with the right resources that already exist to serve them.
During the deepest part of the pandemic, within 30 days SIX veterans were placed in VA housing and were able to move out of Cherry Street into their own homes. A man who had moved out recently stopped by to pick up a care package our team prepared for him. He had a pep in his step and light in his eye that exuded the pride and joy overflowing from his spirit now that he is finally back in a place of his own.
The work done at Cherry Street isn’t just about meeting needs, it’s about restoring dignity and hope to those who have felt misplaced and broken. God is for his children, and it is our joy to work alongside Him as He lifts heads and restores souls. Community collaboration leads to greater impact on the guests and your community.
We are doing more together.
Charlie has a home.
Ryan has a home.
Jerry has a home.
Local agencies applaud county grant to fight homelessness
Local agencies applaud county grant to fight homelessness
For Ann Ebbert, CEO and president of Cherry Street Mission, the coronavirus pandemic has irrevocably changed the way her organization conducts its business.
“The answer to all things is COVID,” she said.
The downtown Toledo agency is one that has seen calls for its food, clothing, and temporary housing services increase steadily over the last year as cases rise and those in need become even needier.
“All of the different things that have happened in our society recently have impacted those who are on the margins more significantly than others who have more resources,” Ms. Ebbert said. “For those people, there’s a fine line between successfully navigating their lives and falling into a crack.”
To help and prevent homelessness, Lucas County commissioners voted Tuesday to provide an additional $476,000 in housing assistance to support residents who are experiencing unexpected homelessness during the pandemic, the county announced.
The commissioners approved $376,000 in funding for the Housing Problem Solving program, an initiative of the Toledo Lucas County Homelessness Board. This program employs strategies, like pulling together the resources of existing aid organizations, in an effort to prevent or shorten the duration of homelessness for residents of Lucas County.
In a separate resolution, the commissioners authorized $100,000 for the Toledo Lucas County Homelessness Board to support its emergency hotel/motel service program. This provides up to 30 days of interim housing for the homeless and seeks to address the increased need that has complicated social-distancing inside shelters.
“We want to make sure that people facing homelessness are connected to the resources they need to find housing quickly instead of being placed on waitlists or entering congregate facilities,” Gary Byers, president of the commissioners, said in a statement.
Michael Hart, executive director of the homelessness board, said that with many area shelters full or on wait lists, the county’s announcement is all about addressing a need that has not waned over the last two years.
The Housing Problem Solving program gets at long-term issues, Mr. Hart explained, while the emergency hotel/motel service gets at short-term issues. Still, both initiatives fall under one objective.
“The goal here is to avoid evictions and ensure that people stay in their houses,” he said.
The Housing Problem Solving program is designed to use fewer resources to provide the necessary support for individuals and families to keep them from experiencing chronic homelessness, the county said. Since launching in August, this program, which is based on similar initiatives in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Philadelphia has served nearly 200 people.
To accomplish this goal, Mr. Hart said the county funds will provide for the hiring of navigators to guide citizens in need to the proper resources. This could take the form of legal assistance through the Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, or monetary rental assistance through city or county programs.
“The need is there,” Mr. Hart said of the Housing Problem Solving program. “Your situation should not have to become more severe in order for you to get linked with services, so we can do more upstream to be preventative and divert individuals who are present in the homeless system to those other existing resources that are appropriate to support them.”
To bring the various partners that combat the housing crisis in the area together, the Toledo Lucas County Homelessness Board espouses an idea called the “continuum of care,” on their website. This continuum holds that homeless individuals need an approach to care that takes them through the process from being homeless to fully getting back on their feet again.
The Cherry Street Mission is a member of that continuum. Ms. Ebbert said that the money from the county to the Homelessness Board will have a ripple effect on her organization due to its place in the process of care.
“If you think of the continuum as a big umbrella of all of the network of services, or a road map of different services available,” Ms. Ebbert said, “then Cherry Street is on that road map as a provider, along with Family House and Mom’s House.”
Since its founding in 1947, Cherry Street Mission has provided food, clothing, and temporary housing to those in need. Still, Ms. Ebbert feels that it is the “end condition” of people who leave the mission’s care, and the county money can improve how a place like Cherry Street Mission gets people there.
“When the continuum has appropriate opportunities for those who are homeless, or for those who are close to homeless, then definitely Cherry Street is stronger, as is every other shelter and the end user then remains in that condition of homelessness a shorter amount of time.” Ms. Ebbert said. “People can access our opportunities in a more efficient way and therefore, can process from poverty to health.”
In November, 2020, commissioners approved $100,000 in federal CARES Act funds to the homelessness board for unanticipated costs related to the agency’s response to the pandemic.
The agency also received $10,000 in support through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program in June, 2020, to assist its efforts to provide meals for individuals and families in an isolation and quarantine center.