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DEL.ICIO.USReal need exists for House of Joy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bobigene Pack keeps trying to do the Lord’s will, but sometimes stumbling blocks get in the way.
Recently, though, everything seemed to be falling into place. She landed a financial backer who shared her dream. And she’d found a facility for sale that needed little, if any, work. It all seemed too good to be true.
Turns out, it was.
The facility was Century Gardens, a senior living center near downtown Norcross that’s shutting its doors. It has 28 rooms and is licensed for 38 beds. It has a commercial kitchen and a wraparound porch with ceiling fans. Perfect, Pack thought, for a homeless shelter, her year-old vision.
Last month, Century Gardens went on the auction block. The highest bid exceeded $1 million. Too rich for Pack and an investor who had secured a loan for up to $750,000. They didn’t make an offer. Even if they could have bought the property, zoning may have been tricky. Unofficial inquiries at Norcross City Hall gave Pack the impression that officials may have been lukewarm to a homeless shelter.
So Pack’s dream continues to be deferred. Yet she’s unshaken. Still trusting in the Lord. Still marching on, upbeat and undeterred, harboring no malice about what could have been.
“I was closer, financially, than I’ve ever been to being able to buy a building,” said Pack, founder of Love in Action Outreach Ministries, a nonprofit in Norcross. “This would have been a great start for us.”
And Gwinnett.
In 2004, one of my early columns dealt with the county’s lack of a homeless shelter. It featured Pack, a trained minister who told me the Lord had commanded her to provide cots for those who sleep in the woods and in cars. She’s been working to make a shelter a reality every since.
Pack’s been close before. At one time, a shuttered warehouse held promise. Next it was a vacant apartment unit. She was unable to raise the money both times.
County officials and the chamber brass like to boast about “success” living here. Of course it does. But we seem incapable of generating enough interest and support to address a problem advocates say continues to grow.
“It just makes better sense to provide a safe haven where they can live and get on their feet,” said Donna Long, president of Changing Lives, a faith-based organization in Lawrenceville that supports Pack. “Why are the Christians in our community not stepping up to address these issues?”
Say we open a shelter with 25 rooms. Churches, nonprofits and businesses could adopt a room for a year and be responsible for the particular family who occupies it. Families could stay from three to six months, hoped to be time aplenty for the adults to get themselves together.
This week, Pack plans to take a look at five potential locations for a shelter.
She’s already picked out a name for the operation: “House of Joy.”
“We’re going forward, aggressively,” she told me.
And still trusting in the Lord.
• Rick Badie’s column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. He can be reached at rbadie@ajc.com or 263-3875.
Comments
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By Michael H. Smith
November 8, 2005 07:35 AM | Link to this
…. County officials and the chamber brass likes to boast about “success� living here. Of course it does.
Thanks for making my day Rick and probably half my night. “Success Lives Here�… Oh, but of course it does.
“It only hurts when I laugh�.
Latter my friend ….
By Spicer
November 8, 2005 09:24 AM | Link to this
Wow, a homeless homeless shelter.
By Rick Badie
November 8, 2005 10:07 AM | Link to this
Come on now. We can do better than this. Only two comments so far in response to today’s column about the need for a homeless shelter. Which we need desperately. Apparently “Spicer,” the northerner who wrote in a previous e-mail that Gwinnettians are ignorant and backwoods, will spice up her posting on the topic. Or at least explain it. This is what she wrote: “Wow, a homeless homeless shelter.” I didn’t understand it. Help us out, Spicer. Please. PEACE.
By dee
November 8, 2005 10:24 AM | Link to this
It is disturbing to me that the county would make room in a building they own to assist people from out of state to get jobs and homes but they seem to ignore those in their own county who have fallen on hard times. There are many who are just a paycheck away from being homeless, working for low pay and unable to meet bills. Seems they want churches to take care of these people. Funny thing is, these people can’t even get services at the local hospitals because of illegal aliens, and those from out of state being served. We need to take care of those around us also. Gwinnett County officials don’t seem to want to address this.
By P.D.
November 8, 2005 10:51 AM | Link to this
Thanks Rick, Great article.. Anyone who would like additional information about Love In Action Outreach Ministries and The House Of Joy “Future Emergency Homeless Shelter for Women and Children in Gwinnett” Can contact us at: Love in Action Outreach Ministries P.O. Box 561 Norcross, Georgia 30091 Or by E-mailing us at (Bobbipack@bellsouth.net) We would like to thank you in advance for all of your prayers and support for this project. With Gods Love, Bobbie Pack.
By Michael H. Smith
November 8, 2005 09:10 PM | Link to this
Do you believe in multiple calamities working together having a heavenly ending?
Thanks for leaving the info Bobbie. I just found out about a situation today strangely enough. It maybe a stretch but you’re in business with God who is known to move in mysterious ways, so I’ll pass your info along. Maybe two prayers are being answered.