First Call for Help moves, considers transitional housing

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

An open area in First Call for Help’s new building that could be renovated into sleeping rooms for transitional housing.

It may look like an empty shell now, but the non-profit First Call For Help has big dreams for a portion of the space at its new location.

The organization would like to eventually build sleeping rooms for transitional housing at its new location at 607 E. 13th St. The organization moved there at the end of June.

The organization had been leasing space at the Hadley Center, but its programs had outgrown the space. Also Linda Mills, director, said owning a building made more economic sense than continuing to rent.

There are a wide range of housing options available in Hays. Efficiency apartments can start at $400 to $500. However, families living on minimum wage often struggle to find something with enough space in their price range.

“We would like to be able to offer at least a step in that direction to try to help them stabilize for housing,” Mills said. “What that looks like we are not exactly sure yet.

“We are considering transitional housing, which would be a place for people to stay while they build the necessary resources to be able to get their own housing situation and create some stability.”

First Call served 268 individuals last year, 117 of those needed shelter.

An office in First Call for Help’s new building 607 E. 13th St.

If an individual or family loses housing, saving enough for a deposit can be difficult.

Noel Morales found himself in this very spot Thursday afternoon. He moved to Hays from Puerto Rico to live with his son.

The two quarreled over Morales’ Christian religious beliefs.

He felt he had no choice but to move out.

Morales, 54, a native of Chicago, is a veteran who flew missions over Korea and Lebanon during peace times. He is unable to work because of an injury to his hand in the military and a back injury he received while working in Puerto Rico.

A balcony fell on him, and doctors told him he would never walk again. Morales explained God intervened, and after a year in physical therapy, he walked again.

Morales was able to pay for his deposit and a debt he owed for his plane ticket to the U.S., but the $1,119 per month he receives in VA benefits and disability left no money for groceries.

He walked a mile and half in 90-degree heat to seek assistance from First Call, the first charity assistance he said he has ever asked for in his life.

Morales struggled to hold back tears. He said he is a proud man and it was hard to ask for help.

“It means a lot,” he said. “These people are helping others. When people do that, it shows love. … They are helping people grow.”

First Call gave Morales hygiene items and a bag of food from its newly expanded food pantry and pointed him to other resources, including the Learning Center where he might be able to earn his GED.

Space in the First Call for Help’s new building that is being used as a food pantry.

Mills said the food pantry is not meant to replace other resources in the community but will allow the center to offer one-time immediate assistance to those needing food.

Mills admitted transitional housing is a far-off dream at this point. First Call will have to bring in an architect to see what facilities could be constructed within its new building. Then it would require raising 10s of thousands of dollars in a capital campaign to do the renovations.

Work is still underway to finish the office spaces in the new building. Much of the work thus far has been done with the help of volunteers.

The new space should allow First Call to run its BackPack for kids campaign out of the building, conduct informal classes for clients and conduct board meetings.

Updated: 7-12-17