Cheney assistance programs relocate back

The Cheney Outreach Center, Cheney Food Bank and Cheney Clothing Exchange, accustomed to responding to the emergency needs of people in their community, faced emergency relocation when snow on the roof of the Wren Pierson Community Center, 615 Fourth St., compromised the building on Jan. 2, 2009.

In September 2011, the center relocated back to the Wren Pierson center. The senior center, food bank, clothing exchange and outreach center have returned to the rebuilt and upgraded building. After snow collapsed the roof, however, the community and churches had rallied to keep the services coming. This story reports on how they met that need.

Although they were housed together rent-free for 14 years on the first floor along with the Cheney Museum, the damage most affected the second floor that houses the Senior Center and City Parks and Recreation Department.

By Jan. 4, Carol Beason, director of Cheney Outreach, said she moved the files and electronic equipment.  By Jan. 6, volunteers moved furniture to storage.

Having a disaster plan helped each organization know what they needed to do and whom to call.

She worked from her home until Cheney Outreach reopened its office on Jan. 13 at the Cheney United Church of Christ, 423 N. Sixth, where it is now open from 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The Clothing Exchange moved to the basement of the United Methodist Church, 204 Fourth St., and gave extra clothing to Our Place Community Ministries in Spokane.  It is now open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays.

The Food Bank has reopened at the Recycling Center, 100 Anderson Rd., It is now open from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.

Cheney Outreach, which operates with 10 volunteers and Carol as paid staff, provides basic emergency assistance—energy, transportation (gas vouchers and bus tokens), and limited rent and prescription aid.  It refers homeless people to the Spokane Neighborhood Action Program.  The outreach center also provides scholarships for the Parks and Recreation programs, and does the paperwork for the Food Bank and Clothing Exchange.

Keeping the files for three places in three locations will require new logistics, Carol said.

The center receives support from the community, churches, service clubs, fraternities, sororities and community grants.

John Matthews, director of the food bank, said, “We were at maximum capacity with the amount of food we had stored for cold weather and from food drives for this season.”

Second Harvest came and moved food in three freezers and a cooler to their storage.  The City of Cheney provided vans and prisoners came from Airway Heights Correctional Facility to move the equipment. Volunteers also helped move the food to the Recycling Center.

John said the food bank has picked up the food it stored at Second Harvest and has set up four freezers and two coolers in its temporary location.

The concern of each service provider is that many people walk to seek help and now need to go to different locations for a year or more until decisions are made about the damaged structure.

This year, Cheney Outreach decided not to provide Christmas gifts, but the community rallied.  Sally Shamp, a member of the United Church of Christ, organized the community to provide four gifts per person for low-income families.  They served 182 children.

For information, call 235-2325.

Copyright © February 2009 - The Fig Tree