Shelter's mission to keep homeless off "backstreets"

Gene Kelley's interest in the homeless began when he was eating in a restaurant in San Diego.\n"He was at an outdoor restaurant, and a homeless man wandered up to the crowd," Kelley's widow, Linda said. "The people knew he was homeless, but nobody helped him."\nKelley said her husband walked over to the man and gave him food. Just minutes later, a dog wandered past the restaurant. The people at the restaurant fed the dog.\n"Really, that's when the seed for Backstreet Missions was sewn into his heart," Kelley said.\nIn 1995, Linda and Gene Kelley started Backstreet Missions, a Bloomington shelter for homeless men to spend the night and participate in programs that lead them to professional skills necessary for finding a job, as well as religion. Gene passed away in 2002 but Linda continues to run the mission, which is located in Westplex Park.\nKelley said the mission houses about 25 men a night but has the capacity to house 50. The shelter does not have enough beds for 50 men, though.\n"I think we're down to our last bunk bed," she said. "We'll be going out and buying more beds soon."\nAbout 15 people help Kelley run the mission. It receives no federal funding, but relies on donations from 18 churches of different denominations, as well as individuals and businesses.\nThe mission also helps support itself with a thrift store, which not only supports the mission, but also offers low-income Bloomington residents merchandise at lower prices. The thrift store is located on Arlington Road in Bloomington, along with a food pantry, which gives food and clothing to people who need it. Families are allowed to use it every 30 days. \nThe organization also runs Geno's Cafeteria, named after Kelley's late husband.\n"We serve the public, anyone who's hungry," Kelley said.\nWhile several other shelters are located in Bloomington, Kelley said Backstreet Mission's Christian-based mission sets it apart from all the rest. Men who choose to stay at the mission are offered a variety of programs to participate in, including classes and Bible-based programs.\n"There are shelters in Bloomington which are doing a good job of meeting people's physical needs, but we are a ministry," she said. "We focus on the whole person."\nKelley said more than 70 percent of the men who come to the mission have drug or alcohol abuse problems, which she identified as one of the main causes of homelessness. Kelley said she can relate.\n"The mission actually started as a result of my husband and I coming out of a background of alcohol and drugs," she said. "He lost his job after ten and a half years."\nCurrently, Backstreet Missions is working to build another shelter for women and children. Kelley said they have raised $133,000 for what she said is at least a $400,000 project. She said they have also received a land donation.\nOther Bloomington residents have joined in the fight to help the homeless. Bloomington's fourth annual walk for the homeless, "Homeward Bound," will take place April 2. Money raised will benefit 13 different organizations devoted to aiding the homeless, including shelters and food banks. Participants can form teams, raise money and participate in the walk.\n"It's really an important issue that I think is sometimes overlooked," said Event Coordinator Corinne Reynolds, who is also a graduate student at IU. "Monroe County has one of the highest housing costs in the state and also has one of the lowest median incomes in the state."\nMore information, as well as an opportunity to register for the walk, is available at www.homelesswalks.org. To donate money, food or items, or to find out other ways to help Backstreet Missions, visit \nwww.backstreet.org.