July Tie Binder Newsletter
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Mercy Manor
Over 30 years ago, local Christian women from many churches across many denominations started and supported, with their prayers, their money, and their volunteerism, a special place called Mercy Manor, a facility to provide a Christian path into a new life for women transitioning from incarceration in Ohio prisons back to free lives in their home communities in the Miami Valley. Among the women who helped start, fund, and support the mission of Mercy Manor were DLABC members, dedicating their prayers for the creation of Mercy Manor, giving their funds for the purchase of its facility, volunteering their time, talents, and treasure to help make sure its residents were fed, could be clean and suitably-clothed, had some niceties available to enhance residents’ dignity and well-being, and brought Christian witness and fellowship to
residents as they came to find few others who understood the challenges posed by release from imprisonment into our society.
As time moved on, Mercy Manor honed its mission to serve women with ex-felon status who also struggled with significant chemical dependency and mental illness. Despite serving their time for the offenses that caused their incarceration, these women often found themselves impoverished, without access to public funds because of their ex-felon status, without access to work because of background check issues, banned from access to public housing, and generally treated as if their felony was still being punished after time had been fully served for it. Compounding these impediments to what other impoverished folk could access from their government were the dual problems of addiction and psychiatric illness. Gratefully, healthcare services, and government support for them, were not denied these women, and while Mercy Manor sought out employers who would give residents opportunities to earn income and landlords who would rent to these women despite their felony records, Mercy Manor linked residents to outpatient drug and alcohol recovery services and to outpatient mental health
services, including case management, psychotherapy, and medication management. And everyday a resident spent at Mercy Manor was accompanied by a wellspring of Christian support, encouragement, fellowship and love, brought to them by the staff working in the facility, the board supporting Mercy Manor, and the many local Christian women who volunteered their time, talents, and treasures to the residents.
Mercy Manor eventually came to be funded by government monies attached to faith-based initiatives in social services and in medical care. This funding allowed, at any time, for 10 women, with ex-felon status, chemical dependency, and mental illness to receive transitional and residential care from Mercy Manor. Over 300 women have successfully graduated from their lifeline with Mercy Manor to an independence supported by wage-earning work, bysecuring affordable rental housing, by learning the self-methods and community-supports of sobriety, by following their successful mental health treatment plans, and by a prayer-nurtured and scripture-supported Christian faith. When first started, Mercy Manor took 6-9 months to graduate its ex-felon resident into independent living; since choosing to serve ex-felons with drug and alcohol concerns and psychiatric challenges, it takes 15-24 months to accomplish that graduation. Recidivism, be it return to prison or return to substance use, frankly is rare in those women who graduate from Mercy Manor.
Unfortunately, operational funding for Mercy Manor recently became stymied by a combination of COVID effects on how government monies are now distributed to not-for-profit entities like Mercy Manor and changes in how faith-based initiatives, like Mercy Manor, are treated financially. In the last year, Mercy Manor saw its funding cut in half. So Mercy Manor is only being funded for 5 of its 10 residents. Mercy Manor has needed to rely on its Christian women’s network to make up the difference until the funding issues with government can be rectified. DLABC’s Missions and Caring Board was approached by DLABC members who have been involved with Mercy Manor from its start and asked the Missions and Caring Board to seek ways to help Mercy Manor. A board member visited with the executive director of Mercy Manor and toured the facility. From that experience a number of options were taken to aid Mercy Manor:
(1) Mercy Manor is a focus of DLABC’s prayers for its well-being during these
challenging times it’s experiencing;
(2) DLABC identified cost-savings in its services contracted out as part of church operations that also need to be contracted out as part of Mercy Manor operations, thus giving ways for Mercy Manor to achieve savings through reasonable contract
changes,
(3) DLABC identified a redundancy in service contracts that could be eliminated by
choosing one vendor in that area, thus also realizing a cost savings to Mercy Manor,
(4) much support and praise was given by DLABC to Mercy Manor’s executive director, especially for her zeal and courage during this crisis to her facility’s mission as demonstrated by her declining her salary during these troubling times, and
(5) that through a special collection, DLABC has garnered $1077.00 for Mercy Manor to keep water, gas, and electricity on at Mercy Manor in June.
While many have been helping, both at DLABC and by other Christians, to keep Mercy Manor afloat fiscally, it appears the hard work of that facility’s executive director has accomplished a return of operational funding from government sources that will allow this most recent crisis to be over by month’s end. Nothing will re-fund anything retrospectively, but moving ahead things look far more steady fiscally. The Missions and Caring Board thanks you for its prayers for Mercy Manor and for your generous financial gifts to Mercy Manor. The Board also asks you to consider googling “Mercy Manor Dayton Ohio”: there on its website Mercy Manor details those items it needs, always and everyday, to help give support, comfort, and dignity to its residents.
A box, labeled “Mercy Manor Provisions”, will be placed in the DLABC fellowship hall to collect your donated items for the Mercy Manor residents. When the box is full, the items will be taken to Mercy Manor.
Submitted by: Chuck Longo
Diaconate Mission and Caring
1. Conversations with Neighbors. DLABC members have had several meaningful interactions with local neighbors in April and May. In one case, Pastor Jeff was asked to help collect items from a household planning to move, on the west side. He had some great conversations and our neighbor expressed how much they appreciated seeing young children outside at DLABC; e.g. the Easter egg hunt, Maypole, Trunk-or-Treat. Jeff and church members went to the house multiple times, to collect items for the rummage sale.
In another case, Tim Haugan and Edmund Sasak had an ~ 15 minute talk with one of our
southside neighbors who was outside doing weeding close to the church parking lot. This is the neighbor who put in the landscaping on the border of the church parking lot. Tim remembered talking with him 3 or 4 years about his large mulch loads (8 yards?), and he confirmed he had 18 cubic yards (!) delivered this year. His yard is beautiful if you take time to look at it. The neighbor was roughly 60-70 years old, and very friendly and polite. He was very interested to hear about recent church activities, membership trends, general budget issues, and long-term church health. It is natural and loving for our neighbors to be interested in DLABC, and about it’s spiritual and business health. And vice-versa.
2. DLABC donation Options. In February, we discussed the 5 yearly donations DLABC make to American Baptist + Church World Service national and international ministries. In this month, we present some of the DLABC specific donations that members are very generous to donate to.
- The Bucket Fund. Donations here are designated for anyone in emergency need.
- Congregational Assistance. This is for church members and family relatives, who might need specific assistance. When giving, please designate who this might be for.
- Maintenance Reserve. The church can have large and sometimes unforeseen expenditures for building maintenance and repairs; such as the church boiler, refrigeration, plumbing, roofing, etc.. We just received notice in June from the Kettering city, that repairs to the church sidewalks will be required. Donations to this fund will be used for these types of expenses.
- George T. Allen Scholarship fund. This fund was established in 1986 for student assistance, and awards are usually provided annually.
-Memorial and Designated Funds. DLABC members have historically been very generous to donate to these funds. If you have questions about how or where to donate, please discuss with church officers.
JULY Anniversaries
July 13 Brian & Jerri Wood
July 16 Michael Wadham & Jeff Perkins
July 23 Tim & Heather Haugan
Thank You to Our Volunteers!
Worship Assistant - Linda Emmons
Greeter - Connie Sinks
Kids’ Connection - Summer Break
Ushers
July 5 Chuck Longo
July 12 Michael Wadham
July 19 Susan Sinks
July 26
July Refreshments
July 5 Pastor Jeff Perkins & Michael Wadham
July 12 Carry-in: Christian Ed/Worship Set up/Clean up
July 19 Megan Farnham & Flo Heizer
July 26 1st Baptist Picnic at Paw Paw Shelter (bring a dish to share)
July Events
July 10 Men’s Fellowship, 11am @ Bob Evans on Woodman
July 12 Board & Advisory Mtgs.
July 17 Firepit Fellowship, 6pm
July 20 Newsletter articles due
July 26 1st Baptist Picnic after service, bring a dish to share
July 30 Rummage Sale, 9-3
July 31 Rummage Sale, 9-3
August
August 1 Rummage Sale, 9-12
August 7 Dragon’s Game
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