ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Rochester in winter is a bad place to be homeless, but as the temperatures are warm to begin the week, so too are the hearts of people willing to help. The Rochester Emergency Action Committee for the Homeless (REACH) has established a temporary homeless shelter while the House of Mercy Undergoes Renovation.
"We feel the need to transition and help whoever is in need of help. That’s our calling, and that’s our goal," said Pastor Lonnel Brinson, the owner of the temporary shelter. “We feel the need to transition and help whoever is in need of help.”
There's hope on the near-horizon with a newly renovated House of Mercy on Ormond Street expected to be finished in middle to late January. When completed, it will be able to house 90 people, and will include a kitchen, dining room, outdoor patio, offices for case workers, and a chapel.
The building currently being renovated was originally suggested by one of the shelter's homeless clients, according to Sister Grace Miller.
"We started in one small, five-room house in 1985, and I thought we'd be there forever,” said Miller, “But we've moved on, but never did I ever think we would have a building like this."
Nearly $3 million has already been raised to renovate the building, but there's still work to be done and money to be raised.