The Christmas season won't be a merry one this year at CityTeam Ministries on Elliott Avenue West. Barring a miracle, the combination shelter, feeding center and residential treatment facility in Queen Anne will be closing its doors on Dec. 27, said program director Doug Higham.
"It's not looking good; it's looking like a rap," he said with some sadness. The problem is financial, Higham explained. CityTeam, which took over the former Pineal Mission 10 years ago, has been losing money for around a year and it's been on shaky ground for about five years, he said.
That wasn't a problem at first. Pooled resources from three CityTeam Ministries in California, one in Portland, Ore., and one in Pennsylvania were able to cover the shortfall in the $700,000 annual budget for Seattle's CityTeam operation, Higham said.
But as the economy soured, the financial backing for the Seattle ministry withered away, he said. "And it's going to put a lot of people out on the street." CityTeam offers mats to sleep on for 50 men every night, and it feeds anywhere between 100 and 150 men every day, as well. Staff members breath-test those taking advantage of the shelter to make sure they're not drunk, and each pays $5 a night to sleep there, Higham added.
In addition, the ministry hosts a nine-month residential recovery program for an average of 15 men at a time, he said. The recovery program is Christian-based and includes AA meetings, Bible study and relapse prevention.
The news that the ministry was closing was tough on recovery clients because trust, abandonment and rejection are the biggest issues they deal with, Higham said with a sigh. But on an up note, five of the recovery clients just graduated and found a house together in Queen Anne, he said smiling. "That's a blessing."
Higham has worked for CityTeam for five years, with the last year here in Seattle, and he's not sure what will happen to him. The staff in Seattle is facing layoffs in just a few weeks, he said.
And Higham doesn't blame CityTeam for pulling the plug on the Seattle ministry. "The board (of directors) is concerned with taking care of CityTeam as a whole," he said. "If we hadn't had the economic downturn, we would have been in better shape," Higham muses. "Time ran out."
CityTeam Ministries can be contacted and donations can be made at www.cityteam.org.[[In-content Ad]]
