Shalom Center keeps city moving

Last year, the Shalom Community Center gave out more than 7,000 individual bus passes and about 50 monthly passes to Bloomington community members.

Executive Director Joel Rekas said the organization spent about $5,000 on the passes.

The Shalom Center works primarily with people below the poverty line who are trying to get back on their feet, Rekas said, adding that transportation is a major concern for many of them.

“Transportation is a barrier that keeps people from accomplishing some of the things they want accomplished,” he said. “Many of the people we work with are diligently looking for work, but they need to get around.”

Bloomington Transit offers individual bus passes for half price to nonprofit organizations, which saves the center more than $3,000 a year.

The passes are part of the Shalom Center’s homeless prevention fund, which cost more than $20,000 last year.

The fund pays utilities, rent and other expenses that people facing eviction or foreclosure might have.

“It is far better to prevent homelessness rather than letting someone become homeless,” Rekas said. “Financial costs are always much higher, but also the social and emotional costs are higher as well.”

In recent years, Monroe County has ranked among the top three counties with the highest poverty rates, Rekas said.

Oddly enough, the county’s unemployment levels are 3 percent lower than the state average, he said.

Most likely, the poverty rate is high because of the expensive cost of housing and the fact that many Bloomington people work service jobs, such as waiting tables or providing hospitality assistance, Rekas said.

“You would think that people are in poverty because they are not working,” he said. “But a significant number of our people are working. It’s just their wages do not add up to the cost of housing.”

As a result, the Shalom Center has seen steady increases in the number of people coming to their kitchens.

In 2009, they served 17.5 percent more than the year before, totaling more than 81,000 meals served throughout the year.

Luckily, every year, various food banks and distributors donate nearly $188,000 of food to the agency.

More than 600 volunteers, nearly half of which are IU students, give their time to the center each year.

“Many dorms and fraternities will have fundraisers for us, and we are certainly grateful,” Rekas said.

Many other volunteers are church members and community workers.

Elaine Mellencamp, wife of musician and Bloomington resident John Mellencamp, said she’s glad to donate her time to the center.

“There’s a time when people need services,” she said. “Whether it’s finding a job, finding a place to sleep, a hot meal. ... They provide a pretty well-rounded environment.”

Usually, Mellencamp is accompanied by her sons.

“We try to do things we find personally rewarding, and it’s a good place to get involved,” she said.