Relocations and Refocus

Throughout the 1990’s the Project Help ministry, which was led for many years by board president Mr. Tim Strabbing, operated more or less hand to mouth, much like the clients it served.  We were able to provide a modest stipend for Ms. Branwell’s services, but utilities and rent in the poorly equipped warehouse necessitated another home be found.  The structural needs for better quarters led to a search in the community for a new home for Project Help.

And in 2002 I believe that search came to an end as an abandoned nursing home was purchased to jointly house both the case management/food/clothing ministry needs of Project Help and the crisis management/shelter needs of Turning Point Shelter.  Led by Turning Point Shelter board president, Rev. Norm Fuller, a community fundraising drive enabled the purchase of the old Angola Nursing Home for approximately $200,000, half of which was provided by a grant from the Lutheran Foundation, and the rest provided from the Steuben County Community Foundation, local churches, businesses, and local individuals.

In addition to the grant to assist in our purchase, the Lutheran Foundation also provided an additional grant of $100,000 to rehab the building, including replacing its roof, so that it would be suitable for both of our ministries’ needs.  Local volunteers and area businesses provided much of the sweat equity to do this renovation work, and by the end of 2002 we were moved into our new operational headquarters at 600 North Williams Street in Angola.

With this new location, the ministry of Project Help expanded further to include providing some furniture and appliances for area families as they were now able to store some of these on site.  In addition, the case management services expanded to include the educational services of the Purdue Extension Service around diet and food preparation, as well as parenting and other services provided by the county Department of Families and Children.

In the spring of 2003, in consultation with several area agencies, it was determined that Project Help needed a new executive director to help refocus our efforts and to ensure cooperation and collegial support among our community services sector.  By summer 2003 Project Help hired Ms. Sheri Frank as our new executive director, who remains in this position to this date.

Under Sheri’s able leadership, Project Help has been able to expand its services to the community, and as a result, along with the evolving needs of the Turning Point Shelter ministry, a decision was made to relocate Project Help once again, but in doing so, to allow for expanded services both of Project Help and of Turning Point Shelter who would now occupy the entire space in the renovated nursing home on Williams Street.

Project Help’s ministry has grown over the years, and we now serve upwards of 2,000 families annually in Steuben County and our annual budget is nearly $150,000.  By centralizing our care, area churches have expanded their care and have improved their effectiveness of care.

I believe that the Project Help story is a testimony of how faith, hope, and most of all, love, can be put into action in any community to make a real difference in many individual lives and families, and to improve our quality of life as a whole as neighbor helps neighbor through the love of Christ.

Major Dates / Events