On September 9, Room in the Inn’s new downtown Nashville campus at 705 Drexel Street officially opened its doors and welcomed in all those who don’t have a place to call home.
November 1 began the 2010-2011 Room in the Inn season with more than 160 congregations around the city opening their doors to the homeless for one night when the downtown campus closes.
The new $13 million, 44,000 square foot state-of-the-art building features a café and stage, 13 classrooms, storage facilities, a chapel, a rooftop garden, a built-in giant chess board and three stories of permanent and affordable apartments. It is the completion of a dream 25 years in the making by founder Father Charlie Strobel.
Photo courtesy of roomintheinn.org
“It’s amazing how much difference a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can make,” are the words of Strobel displayed in the lobby of the building for all to see.
Room in the Inn operates under seven missions: “Through the power of spirituality and the practice of love, Room In The Inn’s Campus for Human Development provides hospitality with a respect that offers hope in a community of non-violence.”
They strive to provide these fundamental needs to the over 400 visitors struggling with homelessness every day.
One of the main goals of Room in the Inn is to educate its members so they one day can get back on their feet and provide for themselves. Literacy programs, computer skills training, and art and music classes are just a few of the many programs offered to anyone who is willing to take them.
Vanderbilt University Law School and Belmont University assist with these programs as well as local law firms who donate their time to assist with any legal issues visitors may have.
Photo courtesy or roomintheinn.org
Job coaching and alcohol & drug education also make finding a job and keeping it an easier task. Many who walk through the doors have felonies and other things haunting them from their past.
“Sometimes they can get stuck here,” said executive director Rachel Hester, a graduate of Trevecca Nazarene University. “They wonder, when am I going to be forgiven for that?”
Room in the Inn also provides a Guest House as an alternate to jail for petty crimes committed by the homeless when they are picked up by the police.
“This is the closest thing they have to home,” Strobel said. “That’s humbling.”
With the opening of the new facility, Room in the Inn’s need for volunteers has doubled. The need is great for those trained in all areas from cosmetology to education and chess. The need for financial support remains as well with renovations of the old 20,000 square foot building planned. To learn what you can do to help, click here.