“At Amethyst House you have to be sober for at least two weeks before you can get into the program, and currently you have to have been sober before entering Martha’s House as well,” Bruce Ervin, the director of outreach and service ministries at First Christian Church said. “We realized that we really have no way to link the low-barrier winter shelter that Bloomington has with the high-barrier ?recovery centers.”
In order to fix that problem, Ervin and representatives from other ?Bloomington congregations came together to create New Beginnings.
“The idea emerged of setting up a detox center so that somebody, no matter how drunk they might be, if they really want to get out of this addicted, homeless situation, they can go into detox, stay three to five days and from there stay in a safe transitional shelter where they can start to work on their issues,” Ervin explained.
Initially, the group planned on purchasing a former church to create the detox center, but when Ervin heard the board of Martha’s House was planning on dissolving, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
As planning began, New Beginnings had yet to become a registered nonprofit. They turned to Wheeler Mission Ministries to act as an umbrella organization.
“As Wheeler became more involved, the ?decision was made that Wheeler would actually continue running the shelter,” ?Ervin said. “New Beginnings would have more of a role as a local advisory committee, overseeing the day-to-day operations.”
People in need of the service will be welcomed into the house. If it seems necessary, they will be checked at the hospital before ?going through the remainder of their detox experience accompanied by Martha’s House volunteers. They will then live in the other half of the house while staff members and volunteers work to find them a spot at a more long-term establishment.
“We’re hoping they will stay for two weeks at most, but that might be overly optimistic,” Ervin said. “The wait is actually at least a few months for ?Amethyst House.”
The Martha’s House board will dissolve June 30.
