Main Street Ministries, Inc. (MSM) in Hillsboro has been very busy lately. In addition to the usual work the ministry does of providing physical, emotional and spiritual resources in a supportive environment in order to offer a safe place for women and children, they have been remodeling the apartments the women and their children stay in.
According to their website, the organization does not charge rent for the women and children who join in residence, either in Emergency Shelter or their Transformation Program. The ministry encourages a year-long stay, in order to afford the organization the opportunity to get the appropriate supports on board and work toward replacing negative behaviors with ones that are more productive and positive. Under the current leadership, they apply an approach that is grounded in Trauma Informed Care, focusing on rehabilitating the whole person. They offer care and attention to physical, emotional, behavioral, mental and spiritual health while building connection and resilience.
They also manage a Food Bank as an intrinsic part of following through with their Mission Statement which allows for an outreach opportunity beyond the walls of the building and the lines that define their property.
“We have three apartments that are fully done and one that is in progress and all of the money has been donated,” said MSM Director Stephanie Moss.
The organization recently hosted an Open House for the community to be able to show just what the community’s generous donations have done as well as the need for more.
“It was just so good to have so many good conversations with community members and for people to be able to see firsthand what’s going on,” Moss said.
MSM kicked off an Adopt-an-Apartment program two years ago and have had a great response to the program. Moss said that they have had apartments adopted by multiple churches and organizations such as HMBC, Parkview Church, Grace Church and one in memory of Lola Unruh, a former board member. The groups have raised funds for renovations to be done to the apartments.
“Where we have found ourselves over the last couple of years and why we wanted to create a pause and increase in awareness is old buildings come with lots of surprises. And this renovation effort has not been without surprises. We’ve seen increases in cost. We’ve had to bump up our original estimations. So moving forward we are still looking for people to partner with us. But I’m gonna say underneath it, God is good and this comes directly from our board treasurer because she’s the one that sees all the numbers on a daily basis. Because even though the costs have gone up we’re still paying the bills,” Moss said.
Moss said she and the board are very thankful for all that the community is doing.
“If people want to make a donation or take a tour, they can stop by the office any time. They can also make electronic donations on our website,” she said.
Main Street Ministries is located at 415 S. Main St in Hillsboro and the website is mainstreetministries.net.
