Rescue Mission building unit for dads and children

Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 10:03 a.m.

As the homeless are swept from place to place and local shelters run short on beds, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission Wednesday offered some hope for the future.

The Rescue Mission and Women and Children's Shelter broke ground on a two-story building that will house 152 more men by the end of the year and add a wing dedicated to single fathers. The division for dads will be the first in the city, which usually overlooks that segment of homeless, said Rev. David Blacksmith, executive director of the Rescue Mission.

"The face of the homeless is just changing dramatically," Blacksmith said. "It's far more complex."

The shelter has seen a major increase in fathers with children asking for help, he said.

"It used to happen once a month, but now it happens more than once a week," Harry "Chip" Hinderliter, chairman of the board of directors for the Rescue Mission, said.

Currently the shelter often has to separate fathers from their children to accommodate them.

The Rescue Mission provided housing for more than 5,800 men, women and children last year and served more than 350,000 meals.

The shelter houses 175 people every night in both emergency services and long-term residential programs. The residential program offers classes, work training and rehabilitation for men and women who want to rebuild their lives, Blacksmith said.

The $1.8 million expansion will also add an educational wing that will house a library, computer lab and classrooms to help people get back on their feet, he said.

The Rescue Mission, which runs solely on private donations, requires everyone who stays at the shelter to attend daily chapel or Bible studies.

Wanda Madere, one of the long-term residents at the Rescue Mission, said it was these requirements that "saved her life."

"One of the main reasons why I think we're unique is that we address not only the physical needs of our clients but the spiritual needs as well," Hinderliter said.

Bryan Capecci, a three-month resident in the program, said that the expansion didn't just mean more people would have a place to sleep at night, but that more people would have a chance at turning their lives around. He is taking classes through the Rescue Mission to get certified as a Microsoft-qualified computer technician.

"That's what this building means to me, a hope and a future for guys like myself on the streets, to get them some help and get them a life and a future," Capecci said.